Department for Transport

Aviation: Exhaust Emissions

Sir Vince Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps in additional to those in the Clean Growth Strategy will be required to keep aviation emissions to 37.5 MegaTonnes.

Mr John Hayes: The Government remains open to considering all feasible measures to ensure that the aviation sector contributes fairly to UK emissions reductions, and is committed to meeting its emissions reduction targets under the Climate Change Act. There are a range of measures available to reduce carbon emissions from aviation, including biofuels, airspace reform and improvements in technology. As mentioned in the Clean Growth Strategy, the Government will set out its strategic approach to the aviation sector in a series of consultations leading to the publication of a new Aviation Strategy for the UK. The Strategy will consider what the best approach and combination of policy measures are to ensure we effectively address carbon emissions from aviation.

Home Office

Fraud

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what relationship the Government has with (a) Cifas and (b) other fraud prevention organisations; and what steps the Government has taken to regulate the operation of such organisations.

Mr Ben  Wallace: The Joint Fraud Taskforce is a collaboration between Government, the financial sector, law enforcement, and civil society, which is working collectively to tackle fraud. CIFAS, alongside other fraud prevention bodies, such as Financial Fraud Action UK, are key members of the Taskforce, sitting on both the Management Board and Home Secretary Chaired Oversight Board.  Membership of the Taskforce is non-compulsory, although at its launch, the most senior members committed to work in partnership to help protect the public from becoming victims of fraud and fraud scams, maximising opportunities to stop fraudsters from operating, and to catch and prosecute those who commit fraudCIFAS is also listed as a Specified Anti Fraud Organisation (SAFO) under the Serious Crime Act 2007, and as such CIFAS’s policies and processes are audited by the Information Commissioners Office every two years.

Corruption

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for International Trade on the promotion of anti-corruption measures through bilateral trade deals.

Mr Ben  Wallace: The Home Office published the UK’s Anti-Corruption Strategy on the 11th December, which establishes an ambitious longer-term framework to guide UK government efforts to tackle corruption at home and abroad in the period to 2022. It sets out priorities for the government's anti-corruption response and includes a strong recognition of the relationship of integrity in business and prosperity.  As part of this, the Department for International Trade will consider how anti-corruption can be best supported through our bilateral and regional trade dialogues and trading agreements as the UK develops its position as an independent trading nation. The Home Office is overseeing implementation of the Anti-Corruption Strategy and as part of this is working closely with the Department for International Trade.

British Overseas Territories: Companies

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2017 to Question 117953,  whether her Department has access to operational details of requests made by UK law enforcement authorities for beneficial ownership information.

Mr Ben  Wallace: The Home Office does not have access to operational details of requests made by UK law enforcement authorities for beneficial ownership information.

Trade Agreements: Corruption

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the UK anti-corruption strategy 2017 to 2022, published in December 2017, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for International Trade on the inclusion of anti-corruption measures in bilateral trade deals.

Mr Ben  Wallace: The Home Office published the UK’s Anti-Corruption Strategy on the 11th December, which establishes an ambitious longer-term framework to guide UK government efforts to tackle corruption at home and abroad in the period to 2022. It sets out priorities for the government's anti-corruption response and includes a strong recognition of the relationship of integrity in business and prosperity.  As part of this, the Department for International Trade will consider how anti-corruption can be best supported through our bilateral and regional trade dialogues and trading agreements as the UK develops its position as an independent trading nation. The Home Office is overseeing implementation of the Anti-Corruption Strategy and as part of this is working closely with the Department for International Trade.

Home Office: Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of her Department's Answers to Written Parliamentary Questions in the 2017-18 Session to date have referred to the information requested not being (a) collected or (b) collated centrally.

Victoria Atkins: The Home Office have answered 173 Written Parliamentary Questions explaining that the requested information was not available on the grounds of it not being collected or held centrally. The is out of a total of 2593 Parliamentary Questions that have been answered.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Charities: Government Assistance

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with charities to discuss the impact of state aid rules on their work.

Margot James: Neither my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State, nor I have had discussions with charities about the impact of these rules on their work.The State aid rules apply to funding given to charities, as they would for any other body, where they are involved in economic activities. The rules are blind as to legal form; rather they are concerned with whether an entity is undertaking economic activities. And equally State aid may be granted legally to charities on the same terms as anyone else if it complies with the rules.

Government Assistance

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy,what assessment he has  made of the opportunities to reform state aid following the UK’s departure from the EU.

Margot James: The Government is aware that the EU negotiating mandate explicitly refers to state aid in the context of any future trade agreement between the EU and UK. This future relationship is subject to negotiation. While the Government cannot speculate on outcomes at this stage, any future regime will be based on the principles of open and fair markets. As my Right Hon Friend the Prime Minister said in Florence the Government believes “it would be a serious mistake to try to beat other countries’ industries by unfairly subsidising one’s own”.

Energy: Meters

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect on small energy providers of the cost of the roll-out of smart meters.

Richard Harrington: The smart meter programme has been carefully designed to limit the impact on small suppliers, where appropriate. There are a number of derogations for small suppliers, for example they submit data to Government less regularly, reflecting the burden that data requests can have for small businesses. In addition, there are differences for small suppliers which help facilitate their success and minimise costs – such as not having to pay for Smart Energy GB’s capital costs. Moreover, costs are based on market share rather than a flat rate. In time, smart metering will deliver cost savings for small suppliers, through reductions in meter readers and back office activity. This will lower the barriers for new independent energy suppliers to enter the market.

Small Businesses: Productivity

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations he has received as part of his Department's review of SME productivity.

Margot James: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy regularly engages with the major business representative organisations, including the Federation of Small Businesses and the British Chambers of Commerce, on a wide range of issues. In addition to this, there will be a specific programme of engagement as part of the review into the productivity of Small and Medium-sized Businesses.

Local Enterprise Partnerships

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government plans to continue to fund Local Enterprise Partnerships in areas which have Mayoral Combined Authorities.

Margot James: Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) are private sector led partnerships that are a key part of the Industrial Strategy, which set out Government’s plan for driving growth and productivity across the country. Government has continued to support each of the 38 LEPs with core funding each year since 2012/13. We will continue to work with all LEPs and the new city region mayors to drive growth across England. This Government will continue to encourage close collaboration at a local level as we seek to drive productivity across the country through the Local Growth Fund, Enterprise Zones and Growth Hubs.

Local Enterprise Partnerships

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government plans to consult businesses as part of its review of the activities and objectives of Local Enterprise Partnerships.

Margot James: Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) are private sector led partnerships that are a key part of the Industrial Strategy, which set out Government’s plan for driving growth and productivity across the country. Government is leading a review to reflect our ambition to strengthen LEPs. This will enable them to prioritise investment in order to bring a strong business voice to local decision-making to drive sustainable private sector-led growth and job creation. This is testament to our belief that business and civic leaders working together can help business to prosper across the country. Through the review, we will consult extensively with LEPs, who represent the public and private sector, universities, colleges and other key local business organisations to ensure that we collect a wide range of views on how LEPs can support businesses deliver an effective and vibrant economy.

Competition and Markets Authority

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment the Government has made of the potential need to increase funding to the Competition and Markets Authority to enable it to take on new responsibilities after the UK leaves the EU.

Margot James: The Government is working closely with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to ensure it is appropriately resourced for any new responsibilities after the UK leaves the EU. HM Treasury has provided the CMA with additional funding in 2017/18 to begin preparations for leaving the EU. The Government will continue to work with the CMA on this as the negotiations with the EU proceed.

Competition and Markets Authority: Public Interest

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of expanding the remit of the Competition and Markets Authority to create a research and development public interest test for proposed mergers and takeovers.

Margot James: Under the Enterprise Act 2002, decisions on public interest interventions are matters for Ministers. Public interest interventions can be made in cases that raise concerns in relation to national security, financial stability and media plurality. The Government has no plans to expand these categories.

Competition and Markets Authority: Public Interest

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of expanding the remit of the Competition and Markets Authority to ensure that Critical National Infrastructure is protected by a public interest test.

Margot James: Under the Enterprise Act 2002, decisions on public interest interventions are matters for Ministers. Public interest interventions can be made in cases that raise concerns in relation to national security, which includes critical national infrastructure. As part of the National Security and Infrastructure Investment Review, the Government is consulting on strengthening Ministers’ powers to intervene in cases that raise national security concerns.

Competition and Markets Authority

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Competition and Markets Authority continues to have access to confidential data held by other regulatory bodies (a) within the EU and (b) globally after the UK leaves the EU.

Margot James: In its recent evidence to the House of Lords Internal Market Sub-Committee, the Government recognised the importance of continued cooperation between the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and overseas competition authorities. The Government intends to agree competition cooperation arrangements to allow the CMA and partners in and outside the EU to coordinate enforcement activities and share confidential information.

Competition and Markets Authority

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential quantum for changes in the workload of the Competition and Markets Authority after the UK leaves the EU.

Margot James: The Government is working closely with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to understand the implications on its work of the UK leaving the EU. The Government will continue to work with the CMA on this as the negotiations with the EU proceed.

Nuclear Power: Iran

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has had discussions with the Iranian Government on its nuclear programme; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Harrington: BEIS officials have attended international meetings in Vienna and Brussels including officials from Iran, alongside other signatories of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or in support of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, to discuss the implementation of civil nuclear aspects of the JCPOA by the parties to the Agreement.

Gratuities

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department plans to publish the response to the consultation on Tips, gratuities, cover and service charges which closed on 27 June 2016.

Margot James: Neither my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State, nor I have had discussions with charities about the impact of these rules on their work. The State aid rules apply to funding given to charities, as they would for any other body, where they are involved in economic activities. The rules are blind as to legal form; rather they are concerned with whether an entity is undertaking economic activities. And equally State aid may be granted legally to charities on the same terms as anyone else if it complies with the rules.

Energy: Meters

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress the Government has made on meeting the 2020 target for the roll out of smart meters.

Richard Harrington: The Government is committed to the roll-out of smart meters being delivered by the end of 2020. It is a vital upgrade to national infrastructure that will make the energy market work better for consumers, taking £300m off domestic energy bills in 2020 alone and provide the platform for a smart energy system. As of 30 September 2017, there are over 8.6 million smart and advanced meters operating in households and small businesses and around 350,000 are being installed every month, helping people to save money and take control of their energy use.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Social Mobility

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department has taken to improve social mobility in each of the last seven years.

Margot James: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) was formed in 2016.Internal efforts on improving social mobility since the creation of the Department have included various talent schemes such as our Summer Diversity Internship Programme. We are fully committed to working with the Cabinet Office on addressing social mobility issues through the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy which was launched in October; this will include creating a standard measurement for social mobility which all Departments will be able to use in their activity on this area.The assessment of wider societal impacts is an integral part of policy development in the Department, including applying the family test and compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty as specified in the Equality Act 2010.

Insolvency

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to implement the proposed reforms to the insolvency framework.

Margot James: Responses to the Government consultation revealed a wide range of often conflicting viewpoints from different stakeholders. In addition, many stakeholder responses indicated greater detail on the proposals was necessary. Following the publication of the summary of responses to the consultation in September 2016, the Government has continued to engage with a range of interested parties to further discuss and explore the important issues raised in responses to the consultation and find solutions to the challenges identified. This further engagement will ensure that any reforms, if necessary, will be fit for purpose and best achieve the Government’s aims of rescuing distressed but viable businesses, therefore preserving both value and jobs.

Construction: Industrial Health and Safety

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2017 to Question 118633, whether he plans to make the holding of a CSCS card a statutory requirement for employment in the construction industry.

Margot James: The Construction Skills Certification Scheme is an industry-led initiative which aims to ensure workers on construction sites are qualified to undertake the work they are to perform, and have received safety training. The industry decided to replace the previous fragmented system with a standardised one. The Government has supported this, but is not involved in its implementation, and has no plans to make this a statutory requirement.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: ICT

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to implement the guidance set out by the Government Commercial Function in its paper entitled Exiting Major IT Contracts: Guidance for Departments, published in November 2017, in respect of (a) using market engagement, (b) setting up disaggregation work, (c) risk assessment, (d) developing a programme plan through the transition, (e) identifying the skills and capabilities that will be needed in the future and (f) any other work related to that guidance.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) IT strategy and procurement approach is aligned with the Government Commercial Function paper "Exiting Major IT Contracts: Guidance for Departments". The FCO believes that disaggregating major IT supplier contracts can give better visibility and control, as well as deliver substantial cost savings. We are planning the disaggregation of our major expiring IT contracts and maintain regular contact with colleagues in the Cabinet Office to ensure our IT strategy is in step with wider Government policy.The FCO has also carried out significant market insight activity to guide its disaggregation approach towards a vision of market-aligned, cloud-first services. The size and skill mix of our in-house management team is being reviewed to ensure it has the skills and resources ready to manage supplier and service transition effectively.

Qatar: Migrant Workers

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, what recent representations he has made to his Qatari counterpart on the protection of human rights for migrant workers.

Alistair Burt: Our strong bilateral relations with Qatar allow us to raise a range of issues in our discussions, including how we can work together on migrant labour issues. We support the important legislative and administrative steps taken by Qatar to reform its labour laws, including on wage protection and improvements to exit visas. These have been recognised by the International Labour Organization and NGOs as a positive step.

Kurds: Politics and Government

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions the Government has had with the Government of Iraq on (a) increasing the level of autonomy for the people of Kurdistan and (a) a possible referendum for those people on self-government.

Alistair Burt: ​The UK continues to support the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq. Ahead of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq’s referendum on independence, held on 25 September, we made clear to then President Barzani of the Kurdistan Region, and Prime Minister Abadi, that any referendum or political process towards independence must be the result of an agreement with Baghdad and in line with the Iraqi constitution. That remains our position. We continue to urge both parties to de-escalate tensions, promote calm and engage in dialogue and to create conditions that would allow substantial negotiations to resolve all outstanding issues in line with the Iraqi Constitution.

Saudi Arabia: Capital Punishment

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Saudi Arabian counterpart on the cases of Ali Mohammed al-Nimr, Dawood al-Marhoon and Abdullah al-Zaher.

Alistair Burt: We remain concerned about the cases of Ali Mohammed al-Nimr, Dawood al-Marhoon and Abdullah al-Zaher. We last raised their cases with the Government of Saudi Arabia in July. Our expectation remains that they will not be executed. We continue to follow their cases closely.

Department for Exiting the European Union

English Language: Education

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on the English language teaching sector.

Mr Robin Walker: As part of our work preparing to make a success of our departure from the European Union we are undertaking a broad range of sectoral analysis covering the entirety of the UK economy. The Government’s Higher Education sector report sets out a description of the sector, the current EU regulatory regime, and existing frameworks for how trade is facilitated between countries in this sector. This report has now been published by the Exiting the EU Committee. The Government is committed to securing the best possible deal for the United Kingdom - a deal that works for the entirety of the UK economy. We have been engaging with businesses and industry bodies from all sectors of the economy in order to inform our negotiations with the EU.

Social Services: EU Nationals

Ged Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what representations he has received from the social care sector on the effect of the UK leaving the EU on non-UK EU staff working in that sector.

Mr Robin Walker: Ministers from the Department for Exiting the European Union have organised and undertaken more than 400 recorded engagements with business and civil society stakeholders from every sector of the British economy since July 2016. Details of ministerial meetings are published in the Department’s Quarterly Transparency Returns, which are publicly available on GOV.UK. The Government’s sector report on Medical Services and Social Care sets out a description of the sector and the current EU regulatory regime. This report has now been published by the Exiting the EU Committee.

Small Businesses

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether his Department intends to conduct an impact assessment of the effect on small businesses of the UK leaving the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: The Department for Exiting the European Union, working with officials across Government, is carrying out a programme of rigorous and extensive analytical work that will contribute to our exit negotiations with the EU, to define our future partnership with the EU, and to inform our understanding of how EU exit will affect the UK’s domestic policies and frameworks. This includes engaging extensively with the millions of small and medium sized businesses throughout Britain who make an enormous contribution to our country. The Government continues to speak widely and regularly with these businesses and representative bodies such as the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in order to secure the best possible deal for the United Kingdom. In July, the FSB hosted a small business roundtable attended by Government Ministers. The FSB are also regularly invited to the Business Advisory Group, a forum of business representative organisations who regularly meet with senior Cabinet Ministers, including DExEU Secretary of State David Davis, to highlight their concerns regarding EU exit. Most recently, on 7 December I attended a discussion of the SME Advisory Board, hosted by my colleague Margot James in the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy to discuss the effect of our exit on small and medium sized businesses.

Financial Services

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, for what reason the Answer of 16 November 2017 to Question 113491 did not indicate when he plans to publish a future partnership or position paper on (a) services and (b) financial services.

Mr Robin Walker: On 15 December the European Council confirmed that we will move onto the second phase of negotiations, including discussions on the future relationship. Decisions on the publication of any future UK papers are a matter for the UK Government. We have published 14 detailed papers on the negotiations to date and will continue to set out our positions at the appropriate time. We are seeking a deal that should allow for the freest possible trade in goods and services, including financial services, between Britain and the EU’s member states.

EU External Trade

John McNally: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union what the process plans to follow to transpose obligations in mixed agreements ratified by the EU and the UK into UK law after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: The UK will seek to maintain the relationships and cooperation it currently enjoys with non-EU partners and international organisations as it exits the EU. Our priority is to ensure continuity, and we recognise the need to promote stability for business and individuals. To fully convert EU law into UK law and provide maximum certainty and continuity as we leave the EU, the EU (Withdrawal) Bill will, subject to Parliamentary approval, incorporate into UK law the directly effective rights and obligations in the EU treaties and related international agreements which are already available in our domestic law. The Bill also gives ministers a temporary power to make regulations to prevent or remedy breaches of international obligations arising from withdrawal. In addition, the Department for Exiting the European Union, in conjunction with other Departments, is working with our international partners to identify the full range of international agreements that will be impacted by our exit from the EU, including mixed agreements. The Government’s EU exit legislative programme is designed to cater for the full range of negotiated and non-negotiated outcomes, including for international agreements.

UK Trade With EU: Yorkshire and Humberside

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether his Department has conducted an assessment of the effect on exports from Yorkshire to the EU of not having a trade agreement with the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: As part of our work preparing to make a success of our departure from the European Union, we are carrying out a broad range of analysis as you would expect a responsible Government to do. Officials across government engage regularly on regional issues to ensure each department’s work programmes consider the impact of Brexit on regions and nations of the UK, including Yorkshire. In the last year three present and former DExEU ministers visited Yorkshire. In October, the Secretary of State and the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Steve Baker met with the Northern Combined Authority Mayors in York. Prior to that, former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Lord Bridges hosted a roundtable in Leeds with Yorkshire business leaders and visited a manufacturing site. As we move into the second phase of negotiations we are confident of agreeing a bold and ambitious Free Trade Agreement with the EU that is of greater scope than any such existing agreement. We believe that securing a future partnership between the UK and EU is in the interests of both sides, so we approach these negotiations anticipating success. We do not want or expect an outcome where no trade agreement is agreed.

Scottish Chambers of Commerce

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to his Department's transparency release entitled Ministerial meetings January to March 2017, who was present at the Scottish Chambers of Commerce meeting attended by his Department's Under-secretary of State, the hon. Member for Worcester, in February 2017.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to DExEU: ministerial meetings, January to March 2017 published on 30 June 2017, who was present at the Data Protection roundtable hosted by Robin Walker MP in January 2017.

Mr Steve Baker: Details of ministerial and senior official meetings are published in the Department’s Quarterly Transparency Returns, which are made publicly available on GOV.UK.

Anguilla: Brexit

Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether the implementation phase of the UK leaving the EU will be the same for Anguilla as the rest of the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robin Walker: Both the EU and the UK have been clear that the Implementation Period will be agreed under Article 50 and be part of the Withdrawal Agreement. Both sides have also been clear that the Overseas Territories, including Anguilla, are covered by the Withdrawal Agreement and our Article 50 exit negotiations. In these negotiations, we are seeking a deal that works for the whole UK family, including Anguilla.

Attorney General

Attorney General: Families

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2017 to Question HL3576, what steps the Law Officers' Departments is taking to strengthen families.

Jeremy Wright: The AGO supports the development of policy and legislation across Government where these are relevant to the responsibilities of the Law Officers, particularly in relation to the rule of law. In doing so, the AGO supports the cross-Government objective for strengthening families.

Department for International Development

Companies: Ownership

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what measures she is taking to promote the adoption of public registers of beneficial ownership in other countries.

Alistair Burt: The Government supports the Open Ownership initiative to establish a global online register of company beneficial ownership and through this supports six countries, including Kenya and Ukraine, to set up their own public registers.My Department also supports the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative to work with 14 DFID partner countries to make public the beneficial owners of companies which win oil, gas and mining contracts, by 2020.

Department for Education

Faith Schools: Teachers

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether a voluntary-aided English school designated with a religious character can give preference on the grounds of religion in connection with the appointment of every single one of its teachers.

Anne Milton: A voluntary aided English school designated with a religious character is permitted to take faith into account when appointing employing teachers - see section 60 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.This provision does potentially apply to the appointment of all teachers at such a school but it does not provide blanket protection or an unlimited exception from the terms of the Equality Act 2010 and is not a licence to discriminate on the basis of religion or belief. If challenged as to the use of section 60 in a particular case, a school would be expected to justify the use of the power in the relevant context, the justification being that it was legitimate to take faith into account in the particular case or context. For example, a school might rely on factors such as the pastoral responsibilities of all teachers, regardless of subject or seniority, and the importance that such pastoral responsibilities are discharged consistently by the teachers in the school.Also, it is our expectation that schools with a religious character will balance the need to maintain the religious character of their school with that of securing the best staff for their school.

Secondary Education: Teachers

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the level of availability of part-time jobs in secondary schools on levels of teacher retention.

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of teachers' working patterns on job satisfaction.

Nick Gibb: There is evidence that part time and other types of flexible working can benefit employees, and may contribute to improved retention in both primary and secondary schools. For example, recent research from the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER)[1] on teacher retention recommended that schools should consider how to implement flexible working opportunities. The Department also carried out a survey of teacher workload and working hours in 2016[2], and committed to gathering information on teacher workload every two years.My Right Hon Friend, The Secretary of State for education held a national summit on flexible working in October, which examined the role of Government and others in improving flexible working opportunities for teachers. As a result of the summit. more than 60 pledges were made by the Department, schools and other organisations. Departmental guidance was published this year to help teachers who are considering working flexibly, and to help schools and employers to encourage, support, and enable flexible working requests. The guidance, and a new policy paper on increasing flexible working opportunities in schools, can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/increasing-flexible-working-in-schools/increasing-flexible-working-opportunities-in-schools. [1] https://www.nfer.ac.uk/publications/LFSB01/LFSB01.pdf[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-workload-survey-2016

Construction: Skilled Workers

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what strategy his Department has in place to ensure sufficient skills for the housing construction programme.

Anne Milton: Plans to improve construction skills were set out in the recent Industrial Strategy White Paper. In particular, we will be making the Construction Industry Training Board more effective and accountable, and will be putting in place support for construction skills as part of the National Retraining Scheme, using additional funding announced in the Budget. The government also announced ambitious plans to increase homebuilding, with a target of 300,000 homes a year in England by 2025. The department is working with employers and others to make sure there are enough people with the right skills to deliver these plans.

Sixth Form Education: Finance

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding his Department makes available to sixth forms and colleges in the first twelve months after a merger.

Anne Milton: The Education and Skills Funding Agency provides combined funding allocations for the merged institution based on the allocations that would have been made to the individual merging institutions If there are special circumstances, such as the terms of a merger changing the nature of the student body, the merged college can submit a business case to adjust funding allocations accordingly, which will be considered on its merits In certain circumstances, the government's Restructuring Facility may be available. Further Education or Sixth Form Colleges in England, impacted by a substantive Area Review recommendation, including merger, and who are unable to fund the change themselves, can seek funding from this.The Restructuring Facility is available to support eligible expenditure up to March 2019, with the last date for applications in September 2018.

Academies: Capital Investment

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what additional funding is available to new academies for programmes of facility and building improvement and modification.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The government has committed to invest more than £23 billon in the school estate between 2016-17 and 2020-21. This includes a combination of formula and bid-based allocations to schools, local authorities and academy trusts and centrally delivered programmes.Academies are able to access funding in different ways depending on their structure and size. Allocations include School Condition Allocations and Devolved Formula Capital, and the bid-based Condition Improvement Fund. Other funding is available through centrally-delivered programmes, including the £4.4 billion Priority Schools Building Programme. Revenue funding can also be used for capital purposes.In addition to this, we offer Environmental Improvement Grants for light refurbishment works. These are available to sponsored academies that need the most support when converting to assist them to raise standards and transform educational attainment.

Department for Education: Data Protection

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many data incidents her Department (a) recorded and (b) reported to the Information Commissioner's Office in (i) 2015-16 and (ii) 2016-17.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The department reports data incidents to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) where a large volume of personal data is concerned and there is a real risk of individuals suffering some harm or where smaller amounts of personal data are involved, the release of which could cause a significant risk of individuals suffering substantial detriment, including substantial distress.The department publishes, in its annual report and accounts, information about personal data related incidents and provides fuller details about incidents reported to the ICO.The department’s annual report and accounts 2015-16 reported five personal data incidents and informed the ICO, on a courtesy basis, about one of these, which did not fall within the criteria for formal reporting. The accounts can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dfe-consolidated-annual-report-and-accounts-2015-to-2016.The department’s annual report and accounts 2016-17 reported three personal data incidents of which one warranted formal reporting to the Information Commissioner’s Office. The accounts can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dfe-consolidated-annual-report-and-accounts-2016-to-2017.

Department for Education: Data Protection

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many times her Department's Senior Information Risk Officer roles been vacant for a week or longer since 2012.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Although records are not kept, we are not aware of any occasion since 2012 when the department’s Senior Information Risk Officer role has not been filled.

Special Educational Needs

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of initial teacher training at (a) primary and (b) secondary level is related to children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The government does not prescribe the content of initial teacher training (ITT) courses. It is for individual ITT providers to use their professional judgement to determine the content, structure, and proportion of courses that relate to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).However, courses must be designed so that teacher trainees can demonstrate that they meet all of the Teachers' Standards at the appropriate level. The Standards set out the key elements of effective teaching and the minimum expectations for the professional practice and conduct of teachers. In order to be awarded Qualified Teacher Status, trainees must satisfy the Teachers’ Standards which include a requirement that they have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils, including those with SEND and are able to use and evaluate distinctive teaching approaches to engage and support them. ‘A Framework of core content for Initial Teacher Training’, published in July 2016, states “providers should ensure SEND training is integrated across the ITT programme.” The Framework can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/initial-teacher-training-government-response-to-carter-review and the Teachers’ Standards can be found here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/teachers-standards.

Teachers: Working Hours

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the number of hours worked on teachers’ job satisfaction.

Nick Gibb: The Teacher Workload Survey 2016 assessed the number of hours worked by teachers, and any self-reported impact[1]. In response to this, and wider evidence on teacher workload, the Department has undertaken a programme of work on removing unnecessary teacher workload, which is outlined in the action plan[2], published in February 2017. [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/592499/TWS_2016_FINAL_Research_report_Feb_2017.pdf.[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/594680/Teacher_Workload_Action_Plan.pdf.

Apprentices: Taxation

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps during the absence of a devolved administration to hold discussions with the Permanent Secretary on the best way to allocate the apprenticeship levy to maximum effect for promoting skills among young people.

Anne Milton: While Northern Ireland does not currently have an active administration, the UK government will provide the appropriate support and stability in its absence.The government will make sure that devolved administrations receive a fair share of the apprenticeship levy. HM Treasury has agreed with each administration how much finanical support will be provided. The devolved administrations will receive £425 million in 2017/18, £442 million in 2018/19 and £460 million in 2019/20. As skills is a devolved matter it will be for the devolved administrations to decide how funds raised from the levy should be used.Department officials were in regular discussions with their counterparts in the devolved administrations to consider the implications of the apprenticeship levy on their own apprenticeship programmes and for cross-border employers.

Special Educational Needs

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on what the conditions, illnesses or other reasons are for which children have an Education, Health and Care plan; how such reasons are categorised by her Department; and what proportion of all children in England who have such a plan have a plan for each of those categories.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The department collects annual data from schools and colleges on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) as part of the School Census. This data is published annually each January. Primary type of need is collected for those pupils with a statement of SEND or an Education, Health and Care plan. There are 12 categories of need, including social, emotional and mental health; speech, language and communication needs; and Autistic Spectrum Disorder. The latest figures are available in Table 8 of the National Tables on the Department’s website at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england-january-2017.

Secondary Education: North East

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the proportion of secondary schools rated (a) good or (b) outstanding in the North East compared to (i) London and (ii) other regions of the UK.

Nick Gibb: In the North East, 20% of secondary schools were judged outstanding, and 46% of secondary schools were judged good, in their last inspection. In London, 38% of secondary schools were judged outstanding, and 51% of secondary schools were judged good, in their last inspection. In England, 23% of secondary schools were judged outstanding, and 56% of secondary schools were judged good, in their last inspection. As set out in Ofsted’s annual report, published on 13 December, the quality of education provided to young people today is better than ever.The department recently published the report, ‘Unlocking Talent, Fulfilling Potential’, a copy of which has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. It sets out how we will tackle entrenched barriers to opportunity at every stage of life. Increasing equality of opportunity across the country sits at the heart of this approach. For example, in schools, we will introduce higher retention payments of £7,500 for maths teachers working in challenging areas. We will also prioritise the growth of high quality multi-academy trusts and Teaching Schools in challenging areas by targeting the £53 million Multi-Academy Trust Development and Improvement Fund on areas of weak capacity.In addition, the £140 million Strategic School Improvement Fund is a grant to support schools to develop a school-led system further, and aims to target resources at the schools most in need to improve school performance and pupil attainment.

Education: North East

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to tackle disparities in education and skill levels between the North East and (a) London and (b) other regions of the UK.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The department recently published an action plan for driving social mobility through education (Unlocking Talent, Fulfilling Potential, which can be found at: http://qna.files.parliament.uk/ws-attachments/806404/original/Social%20Mobility%20Action%20Plan.pdf). This plan sets out how we will tackle entrenched barriers to opportunity at every life stage. Increasing equality of opportunity across the country sits at the heart of this approach. For example, in the early years, we will improve early language and literacy for disadvantaged pupils through £50 million of new investment, targeted in areas of the country where outcomes are weak. This will include £26 million for a new national network of school-led English Hubs to promote and share excellence, with a particular focus on reception year. This includes the investment we have already announced for these hubs in the Northern Powerhouse region.

Social Mobility

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 13 December 2017 to Question 117570, what steps her Department plans to take to increase social mobility in areas of Good and Outstanding Ofsted rated schools.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Social mobility is the Department for Education’s priority and we recently published an action plan for driving social mobility through education (Unlocking Talent, Fulfilling Potential, which can be found at: http://qna.files.parliament.uk/ws-attachments/806404/original/Social%20Mobility%20Action%20Plan.pdf). This plan sets out how we will tackle barriers to opportunity at every life stage and includes an ambition to close the attainment gap between disadvantaged students and their wealthier peers, no matter what school they attend, while raising standards for all. We will continue to support disadvantaged pupils in all schools in a range of ways.The pupil premium grant provides schools with additional money to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils of all abilities. All state–maintained schools, including those that are judged Good and Outstanding, receive the pupil premium based on the number of eligible pupils on roll. Schools receive £1,320 for primary-aged pupils and £935 for secondary-aged pupils who have been registered for free school meals at any point in the last six years. The 2015 Spending Review guaranteed these per-pupil rates until 2020. The attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers has narrowed since we introduced the Pupil Premium – now worth around £2.5 billion per year – in 2011.Schools now have a broad range of evidence to draw on to support effective spending of the pupil premium, and we will continue to work with the Education Endowment Foundation to support this, including through a new approach to specialist national leader of education led pupil premium reviews.We will also introduce a new £23 million Future Talent Programme to trial approaches and present clear recommendations on what works to support the most able disadvantaged children. And, given that disadvantaged pupils of all abilities are less likely to be entered for the core English Baccalaureate (EBacc) subjects that can open up opportunity, we will introduce targeted support for schools to encourage take-up and increase the supply of EBacc subject teachers, in line with our ambition of 75% EBacc take-up by 2022 and 90% by 2025.

Department for Education: ICT

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education,  what steps her Department is taking to implement the guidance set out by the Government Commercial Function in its paper entitled Exiting Major IT Contracts: Guidance for Departments, published in November 2017, in respect of (a) using market engagement, (b) setting up disaggregation work, (c) risk assessment, (d) developing a programme plan through the transition, (e) identifying the skills and capabilities that will be needed in the future and (f) any other work related to that guidance.

Mr Robert Goodwill: IT services are primarily delivered by our internal digital, data and technology division (DDAT), and the Department for Education (DfE) has not entered into any large outsourcing contracts with a single vendor arrangement that has spend of over £20 million per year. The DfE has used a multi-vendor approach combined with our in-house delivered IT services; as well as using a cloud-first principle for new procurements.

Apprentices: Taxation

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 21017 to Question 117797, for what reasons her Department has not set a target for the uptake of apprenticeships over the year following the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy.

Anne Milton: In recognition that this is an increasingly market driven system, we have not set targets for the number of apprenticeship starts each year. The government wants employers to shape the way in which they develop their apprenticeship programmes.We have set a target of 3 million apprenticeships starts in England by 2020. There have already been over 1.1 million apprenticeship starts since May 2015

Children: Protection

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much money each local authority spent on (a) initial investigations and (b) child protection plans under section 47 of the Children Act 1989 in each of the last five years.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The department collects data on local authority spend on a range of services for children and young people, published annually in the statistical first releases available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-local-authority-school-finance-data.Local authorities are not required to provide separate data regarding spend on children provided with support under section 47 of the Children Act 1989.

Children: Day Care

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support providers of childcare who find themselves in financial difficulties.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The department is making a record investment in childcare, by 2020 spending around £6 billion per year, investing £1 billion a year to deliver 30 hours of free childcare and increasing our hourly funding rates. The department has awarded grants to the National Day Nurseries Association and the Professional Association of Childcare and Early Years to develop new business sustainability resources for childcare providers, which are available online at https://www.earlyyearsbusinesszone.org.uk/ and https://www.pacey.org.uk/business/ and has made a further package of support materials available, which can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/early-years-business-sustainability.

Erasmus+ Programme

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to retain membership of the Erasmus+ programme beyond any transitional phase negotiated with the EU in the event that the UK leaves the EU.

Joseph Johnson: I refer the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon to the answer I gave on 20 December 2017, to Question 119523 on the Erasmus+ programme [119523]. Under the agreement made this month, the UK would participate in Erasmus+ until the end of the programme. No decisions can be made about post-2020 Erasmus+ programme participation since the scope of this programme has not been agreed. Options will be discussed as part of phase two of negotiations.

Universities Superannuation Scheme

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions (a) Ministers of her Department and (b) officials in her Department have had with (i) Universities UK and (ii) the Universities and Colleges Union about changes to Universities Superannuation Scheme; what the outcomes of those meetings were; and if he will make a statement.

Joseph Johnson: Universities are autonomous institutions and they are responsible for their own pension provision. Government has no role in relation to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) beyond regulation as is applied to all workplace pension schemes by The Pensions Regulator. Neither my Rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State nor the Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation has discussed the USS with Universities UK (UUK) or the University and College Union. Officials have sought updates from UUK on the latest developments regarding the USS. These were informal discussions and there were no outcomes. The department has made no assessment of the impact of the proposed changes to the USS, and believes it would be inappropriate to comment.

Pupil Exclusions

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2017 to Question 111784, if she will make it her policy to collect data on pupils who are prevented from attending a school outside of the formal exclusion process.

Mr Robert Goodwill: We do not believe that collecting information on pupils being prevented from attending school outside the formal exclusions process is practical. The government has recently announced an externally led review of exclusions practice and implications for pupil groups disproportionately represented in the national statistics. The review will consider how schools use exclusion and how this impacts on all pupils, but particular why some groups of children are more likely to be excluded from school. The department will publish full details of the review, including how views can be submitted, in due course.

Headteachers: Misconduct

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2017 to Question 111788, if her Department has received reports from (a) bodies other than the National College for Teaching and Leadership and (b) other people of cases involving inappropriate exclusions and related misconduct by headteachers.

Nick Gibb: Cases of serious misconduct by teachers or headteachers which meet the test set out in the Secretary of States’s advice, are dealt with by the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL). Any individual referring such a case to the Secretary of State will be directed to refer the case directly to the NCTL.

Universities Superannuation Scheme

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions her Department has had with Universities UK on proposals to close the Universities Superannuation Scheme to future accrual; and what estimate she has made of the financial effect of those proposals on academic staff at UK universities.

Joseph Johnson: Universities are autonomous institutions and they are responsible for their own pension provision. Government has no role in relation to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) beyond regulation as is applied to all workplace pension schemes by The Pensions Regulator. Neither my Rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State nor the Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation has discussed the USS with Universities UK (UUK) or the University and College Union. Officials have sought updates from UUK on the latest developments regarding the USS. These were informal discussions and there were no outcomes. The department has made no assessment of the impact of the proposed changes to the USS, and believes it would be inappropriate to comment.

Alternative Education

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to inform (a) parents and (b) children about the transfer of personal data from local authorities to her Department in the Alternative Provision census from 18 January 2018; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The alternative provision census is collected from local authorities on a statutory basis and, as such, does not require data providers to obtain parental or pupil consent to the provision of information.However, being transparent and providing accessible information to individuals about how personal data will be used is a key element of the Data Protection Act 1998 and the General Data Protection Regulation. The usual way of making this information available is via a privacy notice.The Department for Education (DfE) provides suggested wording for privacy notices at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/data-protection-and-privacy-privacy-notices. The Government provides information on how the DfE collects and shares personal data available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/data-protection-how-we-collect-and-share-research-data.

Employment: Learning Disability

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of students with learning difficulties were in full-time employment within one year of leaving that education during the (a) 2014-15, (b) 2015-16 and (c) 2016-17 academic years.

Joseph Johnson: Figures for the proportion of students with learning difficulties in full-time employment within one year of leaving education are not available.

Schools: Finance

Chris Philp: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the level of financial reserves held by schools in England is.

Nick Gibb: We are delivering the biggest improvement to the school funding system for well over a decade and our national funding formula will create a fairer system.We trust schools to manage their own budgets with the great majority having a cumulative surplus of funds, built up over a number of years. The latest published figures for England’s schools showed an overall cumulative surplus of more than £4 billion (for schools with a cumulative surplus), against a cumulative deficit of less than £300 million.We continue to provide support to schools to help them use their resources in the most efficient way, so they can deliver the best value for the taxpayer.

Schools: Staff

Chris Philp: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what comparative assessment her Department has made of the proportion of the schools budget that has been spent on staffing costs in (a) 2010 and (b) 2017.

Nick Gibb: Spending on staff as a proportion of the total schools’ budgets has decreased from 77% in 2011/12 to 74% in 2015/16 for academies and from 77% in 2009-10 to 73% 2016-17 for local authority maintained schools.In July 2017 we announced an additional £1.3 billion of funding for schools and high needs across 2018-19 and 2019-20, in addition to the schools budget as set out in the 2015 Spending Review. This means funding per pupil for schools and high needs will be maintained in real terms for the next two years.

Schools: Finance

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding has been allocated to secondary and primary schools in (a) Harborough constituency and (b) England as a result of the national funding formula in each year since the formula's implementation.

Nick Gibb: We have announced details of the final National Funding Formula for schools, which will be implemented from 2018-19. Under the new formula, schools in Harborough constituency will receive £66.3 million in 2018-19; they would receive £68.0 million in 2019-20 if there were no changes in pupil numbers or characteristics. This is an increase of 3.2% in 2018-19 and 5.8% in 2019-20, compared to their 2017-18 baseline. Schools in England will receive £33.2 billion in 2018-19 and would receive £33.6 billion in 2019-20, on the assumption of no changes in pupil numbers or characteristics. Budgets after 2019-20 will be determined in a future spending review.

Schools: Finance

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the 2017-18 baseline is for school funding for secondary and primary schools in (a) Harborough constituency and (b) England; and what estimate he has made of that baseline for 2019-20 as a result of the National Funding Formula.

Nick Gibb: The 2017-18 baseline funding is £3,983 per pupil in the Harborough constituency, and £4,497 per pupil in England as a whole. Under the National Funding Formula, per pupil funding would rise to £4,215 in Harborough by 2019-20 (an increase of 5.8%), and to £4,635 in England by 2019-20 (an increase of 3.1%). These amounts are based on existing pupil data, which will be subject to change as the pupil population changes. Local areas will continue to set local formulae to allocate money to their schools in 2018-19 and 2019-20, so individual school budgets may differ from the notional amounts published in September.

ICT: Education

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to assess how emerging education technology can be used to prepare pupils for future digital workplaces.

Nick Gibb: Ensuring that pupils have the digital and computing skills needed is a key priority of this Government. We are working with teachers, researchers and industry to where technology can support effective education and broader development of digital skills. This includes how technology can support the delivery of the computing curriculum which was introduced in 2014 to replace the old, and widely regarded as outdated, ICT curriculum.We are investing £84 million new funding over the next five years to deliver a comprehensive programme to improve the teaching of computing and drive up participation in computer science.

Digital Technology: Adult Education

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to introduce and promote digital literacy education for adults.

Anne Milton: The Digital Strategy published in March 2017 confirmed the government’s new entitlement for adults who lack basic digital skills to undertake fully-funded training. This provision was included in the Digital Economy Act 2017, which will mirror the approach taken for adult literacy and numeracy training. We are working with the further education sector, employers and other stakeholders to develop the details of this new entitlement. My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, will set out basic digital qualifications for adult learners eligible for fully-funded training in due course. In the interim, we will continue to support the provision of basic digital skills training for adults in colleges and community learning centres across England through the Adult Education Budget and other programmes.

Offences against Children

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidelines his Department set for schools on reporting people who injure children to the Police.

Mr Robert Goodwill: We are clear that schools should be safe learning places for all children.Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE) is statutory guidance which all schools must have regard to when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.If a child has been harmed, is at risk of harm or is in immediate danger, a referral should be made to children’s social care and/or the police. KCSIE is clear that all staff should be aware of the process for making referrals to children’s social care. Allegations against teachers should be referred to the local authority designated officer. The reasons for referral include behaving in a way that has harmed a child, or may have harmed a child. In some cases, a referral to the police will also be appropriate. The designated officer will discuss this with the school.

Department for Education: Social Mobility

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to improve social mobility in each of the last seven years.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Improving social mobility is the Department for Education’s priority. We want to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to fulfil their potential. Since 2010, the department has successfully implemented ambitious reforms which are transforming opportunities for our children and young people throughout their educational journey. For example, there are now 1.9 million more children in good and outstanding schools than in 2010, record numbers of young people in education or training and more disadvantaged pupils going to university. The Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities recently published a plan, ‘Unlocking Talent, Fulfilling Potential’, which sets out plans to improve social mobility through education. The plan will deliver targeted action on the people and places that need it most, focusing £800 million of government investment on overcoming barriers to opportunity.

Children: Social Services

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on changes to the level of children (a) known to social services and (b) taken into care.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department for Education collects annual data from local authorities on children who are referred to social care through the children in need census and on children who start to be looked after through the looked after children collection.Figures for each are published in the Characteristics of children in need: 2016 to 2017 statistical release at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/characteristics-of-children-in-need-2016-to-2017 and in the Children looked after in England including adoption: 2016 to 2017 statistical release at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2016-to-2017.

Ministry of Justice

Prisons: Unmanned Air Vehicles

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many drones were discovered in the prison estate in 2016.

Mr Sam Gyimah: I refer the Rt Hon member to PQ 4436, answered on 17 July 2017.

Leader of the House

Leader of the House of Commons: Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Leader of the House, how many and what proportion of her Office's Answers to Written Parliamentary Questions in the 2017-18 Session to date have referred to the information requested not being (a) collected or (b) collated centrally.

Andrea Leadsom: None of the answers refer to the information not being collated or collated centrally.

House of Commons: Personnel Management

John Mann: To ask the Leader of the House, what steps she is taking to establish an independent human resources department to support Members and their staff in Parliament.

Andrea Leadsom: I refer the Hon. gentleman to the statement made in the House on Thursday 21 December 2017; there will be a new, interim provision of HR support and guidance for the staff of Members, beginning after the recess, while consideration is given to the need for a broader HR service. HR support will also be accessible to Members’ staff working on the parliamentary estate, in constituency offices, and those who are collectively employed by the parties.

Ministry of Defence

RM Condor: Staff

Kirstene Hair: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff stationed at RM Condor are (a) military and (b) civilian.

Mark Lancaster: As at 1 October 2017 there were 650 Military personnel and 40 civilian personnel stationed in Angus Local Authority (where RM Condor is located).

Submarines: Accidents

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2017 to Question 118343, how many incidents in which an RN submarine was damaged and where another vessel was not involved, there have been by (a) class of submarine and (b) severity of damage to the boat in the last five years.

Mark Lancaster: The only incident in which a Royal Navy submarine was damaged, and where another vessel was not involved, in the last five years was in November 2014 when HMS TALENT was hit by floating ice while deployed. HMS TALENT suffered damage to her conning tower in this incident but all systems remained fully functional, there were no nuclear concerns, and the vessel was able to return to Devonport Naval Base under her own power.

Keogh Barracks: Water Supply

Sir Jeffrey M. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to resolve the frequent interruptions to the hot water supply at Keogh Barracks; what steps have been taken to protect the welfare of Service personnel as a result of the lack of hot water at those barracks; and whether his Department has identified a permanent solution to those interruptions.

Mark Lancaster: A temporary repair has been installed to resolve the interruptions to the hot water supply at Keogh Barracks, including a temporary boiler to the main accommodation block.A permanent solution has been identified and the newly designed system will be installed in the next financial year.

Ministry of Defence: Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of his Department's Answers to Written Parliamentary Questions in the 2017-18 Session to date have referred to the information requested not being (a) collected or (b) collated centrally.

Mark Lancaster: In the 2017-18 session to 19 December, the Ministry of Defence answered 1,266 written parliamentary questions. Of those, 55 answers (4.3%) explained that the requested information was not available on the grounds of it not being collected or held centrally. Of those, 25 answers (2%) provided some or most of the information requested.

Navy: Recruitment

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people were recruited into the Royal Navy from each (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) local authority area in each year from 2000 to 2017.

Mark Lancaster: The Ministry of Defence does not hold this information in the format requested.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2017 to Question 110019, on universal credit, how many and what proportion of claimants transferring to other benefits took up their entitlement for an advance without a needs assessment.

Damian Hinds: When a claimant moves from a legacy benefit to Universal Credit, they can ask for a Universal Credit Advance (benefit transfer) if they need help to manage the transition to a monthly paid benefit. This type of advance does not require a claimant to demonstrate financial need but they must be able to repay it over the required 12 months timescale. The latest statistics, for October 2017, show that 2,400 Benefit Transfer advances were paid to new claim who go on to receive a Universal Credit payment. This represents 10% of all new claims made to Universal Credit Full Service in October 2017. 62% of new claims that have an entitlement to a Universal Credit payment received either a Benefit Transfer advance or a New Claim advance. We have also provided communications to increase the visibility of Universal Credit Advances so claimants are made aware of their availability; how to apply for them and the period over which they can be repaid.

Personal Independence Payment

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his observations on the public petition entitled PIP Assessment Criteria and Process of 21 November 2017, if he will make it his policy to specify minimum qualification and training requirements for all assessors.

Sarah Newton: As stated in the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions’ observations, DWP has set clear requirements on the professions, skills, experience and training of the Health Professionals that the Assessment Providers can use to carry out Personal Independence Payment assessments. In addition to their qualified profession, they must have at least two years’ experience following registration, as well as awareness training in specific conditions. Health Assessment Providers frequently engage with medical experts, charities and relevant stakeholders to strengthen review and update training programmes for all their assessment staff.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of paying all women aged 60 or over but yet to reach state pension age (SPA) non-means tested income at Jobseekers Allowance rates until SPA is reached.

Guy Opperman: The Department has no plans to carry out such an assessment.A concession was made prior to the passing of the 2011 Act which reduced the delay that anyone would experience in claiming their State Pension, relative to the previous timetable, to 18 months. This concession benefited almost a quarter of a million women, who would otherwise have experienced delays of up to two years. A similar number of men also benefited from a reduced increase, and the concession was worth £1.1 billion in total.This issue has been debated numerous times and numerous statements have already been made. Introducing further concessions cannot be justified given the imperative to focus public resources on helping those most in need.The current average age of exit from the labour market for women is 63.6 – well above the previous women’s State Pension age of 60. The welfare system continues to provide a safety-net for those experiencing hardship, including for reasons of unemployment, disability and coping with caring responsibilities. The Government is committed to supporting the vulnerable and spends around £50 billion a year on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Dogs: Smuggling

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the oral contribution of 1 November 2017, Official Report, column 418WH on puppy smuggling, if he will detail who the stakeholders are who believe that a third party ban is unnecessary.

George Eustice: The EFRA Committee looked at the issue of third party sales in some detail as part of its review on animal welfare and domestic pets. The transcript of the Committee’s evidence and the final report note there were mixed views on the consequences of a ban on third party sales of puppies. The Committee divided on this recommendation. During the EFRA Committee’s review, my department received briefing material from two stakeholders, Blue Cross and the Dogs Trust in which they outlined their concerns about a ban on third-party sales of puppies, including the risk of sales going underground. To address the concerns about breeding and sale of puppies, we are planning to bring forward regulations that would ensure that anyone in the business of selling pets, whether online or in a pet shop, will need a licence, and they would have to abide by a statutory animal welfare code for dogs. The regulations will tighten up the controls on dog breeding, pet sales and other licensable activities involving animals, applying up to date statutory animal welfare standards and give local authorities new powers on enforcement which will deal with the issue.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Data Protection

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many data incidents his Department (a) recorded and (b) reported to the Information Commissioner's Office in (i) 2015-16 and (ii) 2016-17.

George Eustice: The information requested can be found in the table below.  2015-162016-17Data related incidents3314Incidents reported to the ICONilNil

Wildlife: Smuggling

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) multilateral and (b) bilateral initiatives he has taken to counter the illegal wildlife trade.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Combatting the illegal wildlife trade (IWT) is a priority for the UK Government. This is why we are investing £26 million globally, and working with international partners, to tackle the systemic issues driving IWT. Our work to combat IWT involves a number of multilateral and bilateral initiatives, including the commitments we made at the Hanoi Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference: http://www.parliament.uk/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2016-12-01/HCWS295 These commitments complement our existing initiatives, such as funding our Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund, which aims to reduce demand, strengthen enforcement, ensure effective legal frameworks and develop sustainable livelihoods for communities affected by IWT. A list of projects can be found on the IWT Challenge Fund website: https://www.gov.uk/Government/collections/illegal-wildlife-trade-iwt-challenge-fund Following the success of the inaugural international conference on IWT in London in 2014 and UK Government support for the subsequent successful conferences in Kasane (2015) and Hanoi (2016), the UK will bring global leaders back to London in October 2018 for a fourth high level international meeting. This meeting will make sure that IWT stays at the top of the political agenda, that all participants deliver on existing commitments and instigate new partnerships for action.

Plastics: Seas and Oceans

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to help reduce rising levels of plastic in the oceans.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: We are taking a series of steps to deal with ocean plastics, including our ban on microbeads. Microbeads used in rinse off products end up in the marine environment and damage the marine life. While some countries have opted to ban only those plastic particles added for exfoliating and cleansing purposes, our ban covers all microplastic particles in rinse-off personal care products. It is one of the toughest bans in the world. The ban on the manufacture of rinse-off personal care products containing microbeads will begin on the 9th of January 2018, and the ban on sale will follow six months later From 2 October to 20 November an independent working group set up under the Litter Strategy for England held a call for evidence on measures to reduce littering of drinks containers and promote recycling. This included seeking evidence on the costs, benefits and impacts of deposit and reward and return schemes. The Working Group is due to provide advice to Ministers on potential incentives for drinks containers early in 2018. Any decisions on suitable measures to then take forward will rest with Ministers. In the autumn Budget the Government also announced a call for evidence in 2018, seeking views on how taxing and charging the most environmentally damaging single use plastics could help reduce waste. Since the introduction of the Single Use Carrier bag charge in October 2015, we have seen a drop of around 83% in the consumption of single-use carrier bags with the seven major retailers distributing around 9 billion fewer single-use plastic bags, compared with pre-charge levels. The charge has generated approximately £95 million from retailers towards good causes since it was introduced. In addition, the Government is developing a renewed strategy on resources and waste that looks ahead at opportunities outside the EU. This will set out the detail of how we will meet the ambitions for resources and waste that are set out in the Clean Growth Strategy, Industrial Strategy and the forthcoming 25 Year Environment Plan.

Noise: Seas and Oceans

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce noise pollution in the oceans.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The UK monitors activity generating impulsive noise from pile driving, seismic surveys, detonation of unexploded ordnance, and some sonar activity via the UK Marine Noise Registry (https://mnr.jncc.gov.uk/). To address sources of continuous noise, the UK is establishing a noise monitoring network, consisting of long-term monitoring stations deployed in coastal waters. Starting in 2018, UK agencies will participate in the EU-funded JOMOPANS project to develop joint monitoring in the North Sea.

Agriculture: Competition

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government plans to take to increase the capacity of smaller farms to compete with large intensive farms.

George Eustice: There will continue to be a place in UK agriculture for all sustainable production systems that meet our high environmental and welfare standards. We are committed to working with the industry to ensure a vibrant and productive future for all agricultural sectors as we prepare to leave the European Union. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to develop policies that support innovation, increase agricultural productivity, and improve the efficiency with which we use natural resources.

Food: Procurement

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the timeline for introducing the balanced scorecard approach to public procurement decisions for food and catering services is.

George Eustice: The use of the Balanced Scorecard approach becomes mandatory for all central government departments and their agencies as existing contracts are renewed. This has now been enshrined in the updated Crown Commercial Service Facilities Management (FM) Framework which becomes effective early in 2018. The FM Framework is updated every 4 years.

Food: Procurement

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to support (a) SME’s and (b) British farmers through public procurement.

George Eustice: The Government has a manifesto commitment to ensure that a third of goods and services procured by departments are supplied by Small and Medium Enterprises (SME). We are delivering this in respect of food and catering services through the Plan for Public Procurement: Food and Catering Services, published in 2014. The Plan simplifies the public procurement process and opens up the market to more SMEs and local producers by providing a level playing field on which UK producers can compete. It provides tools, including the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), to help contracting parties to balance a range of criteria beneficial to the consumer, the environment, and to producers. These include embedding UK production standards, encouraging seasonality of fresh produce and calling for menus which celebrate the provenance of the food. One of the BSC tools, the online market place, was launched on 11 October 2017 and will be used by businesses to showcase their products and services to procurers and to the rest of the supply chain.

Food: Procurement

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether public procurement processes require caterers to meet the needs of those whose diets are (a) vegetarian (b) vegan and (c) gluten free.

George Eustice: The Plan for Public Procurement through the Balanced Scorecard helps contracting parties to balance a range of criteria including provenance, seasonality, production standards, and cost. The Plan does not mandate any specific diets, but has the flexibility to allow contracting parties to cater for any type of diet.

Public Sector: Procurement

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make Government buying standards for public procurement mandatory across the whole of the public sector.

George Eustice: The use of the Balanced Scorecard approach becomes mandatory for central government departments and their agencies as existing contracts are renewed. Its use is also highly recommended for other public sector bodies, but cannot be mandated because responsibility for procurement decisions is delegated to local level.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Older People: Mental Health

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps local authorities are taking to ensure elderly and vulnerable people who are without a support network of friends or family during the winter do not suffer from loneliness.

Mr Marcus Jones: My department is working with local authorities and with colleagues across Government to support people suffering from loneliness and to develop policies to reduce social isolation.Through my department, the Communities Fund is providing resources for 54 partnerships between Local Authorities and communities, some of which are developing projects to help social isolation and loneliness through social prescribing interventions, volunteering and employment. For example, in South Norfolk, a social prescription intervention project will tackle social isolation, reduce use of primary care resources, and help increase access to services in a rural area, and, in Stoke-on-Trent, funding is being used to help communities support older residents, particularly those who are experiencing social isolation and loneliness.The planning system also encourages local authorities to consider loneliness and social isolation when making decisions. Paragraph 1.16 of the Housing White Paper confirmed the strengthening of the National Planning Policy Framework so that planning authorities are expected to have clear policies for addressing the housing requirements of groups with particular needs, such as elderly and disabled people and the Neighbourhood Planning Bill introduced a new statutory duty on the Secretary of State to produce guidance for local planning authorities on how their local development documents should meet the housing needs of older and disabled people. Guidance produced will place clearer expectations about planning to meet the needs of older people, including supporting the development of such homes near local services.Additionally, our Supported Housing and Disabled Facilities Grant programmes are helping the target populations live as independently as possible within the community, which helps to prevent loneliness.All community spaces have an important role to play in preventing loneliness and the Department works closely with local authorities, community groups, and the voluntary and charity sectors to ensure communities know and use the rights they have over their community assets. That can be the local pub, park, community café or local employment services, youth clubs, or social prescribing initiatives. The Pocket Parks Programme, for example, transformed 87 small patches of waste land across England (2015/2016) into community green spaces. Communities not only got a pocket park, but also came together in the planning, execution, and enjoyment of their new community hub, which helped to increase community cohesion and decrease social isolation.In 2013-14, the Department of Health also added a loneliness measure to the Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework and Public Health Outcomes Framework and supported the development of a loneliness toolkit for Health and Wellbeing Boards by the Campaign to End Loneliness, which can be found at http://campaigntoendloneliness.org/guidance/. Local authorities can use these measures as guidance to develop interventions to tackle loneliness and social isolation.

Mental Health

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people affected by loneliness in 2016/17; and if his Department will publish such statistics for each local authority in 2016/17.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Office for National Statistics monitors and reports on loneliness and social isolation. Most recently it has published estimates of loneliness nationally in 'Life in the UK' and regionally in 'Social Capital in the UK'. Small sample sizes make it difficult to publish estimates for local authorities. I refer my Hon Friend to the response published by the UK Statistics Authority in response to a question earlier this year. The response can be found at: http http://qna.files.parliament.uk/qna-attachments/794094/original/PQ115182.pdf

HM Treasury

Children: Day Care

Mr David Lammy: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of parents under the Childcare Voucher scheme who will not be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare.

Mr David Lammy: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to provide support to parents who benefit from the Childcare Voucher scheme but who are not eligible for the Tax-Free Childcare scheme.

Mr David Lammy: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what reports he has received on the number of people who have experienced technical problems with the Childcare Service site in accessing Tax-Free Childcare.

Mr David Lammy: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the replacement of Childcare Vouchers with Tax-free Childcare on basic rate tax payers with child-care costs of £4000 or less per annum.

Elizabeth Truss: The Government is committed to supporting working families with the cost of childcare. We are doubling the free childcare available to working parents of 3&4 year olds to 30 hours a week, saving them around £5,000 a year per child. By 2019/20 we will spend around £6bn per annum on childcare support – a record amount. Childcare vouchers are only offered by a minority of employers and are unavailable to self-employed parents, or those who do not earn enough to participate in salary sacrifice schemes. Tax-Free Childcare is designed to be fairer and better targeted. It will have a far wider reach than vouchers and is expected to benefit over 1 million working households. Parents currently using vouchers will be able to continue using them, if they prefer, while they continue to work for the same employer and that employer continues to offer them. All parents who would have been eligible for childcare vouchers will be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare provided they have a child aged under 12, they and their partner if they have one, earn at least the equivalent of the National Living Wage for 16 hours a week and no more than £100,000 a year. The analysis requested breaking down impacts on basic rate taxpayers is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Children: Day Care

Royston Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of self-employed households which will benefit from the introduction of tax-free childcare.

Royston Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the number of low-wage earners who will be financially disadvantaged as a result of the introduction of tax-free childcare.

Royston Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assistance is available under the tax-free childcare scheme for families in which a parent (a) becomes unemployed and (b) stops working in order to care for a relative.

Royston Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial impact assessment has been made of operating (a) childcare vouchers and (b) tax-free childcare concurrently.

Royston Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of (a) public and (b) private sector organisations offer childcare vouchers.

Royston Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of places of work signed up to the childcare voucher scheme during the last seven years; and how many parents decided to participate in that scheme over that period.

Elizabeth Truss: In response to the question on the proportion of self employed parents eligible for Tax-Free Childcare, I refer the Hon Member to the answer that I gave on 4 December to the Hon Member for Batley and Spen (PQ 116593). Parents need to earn the equivalent of 16 hours per week at National Living Wage to be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare. The government also provides support with childcare costs for those on lower incomes through tax credits and Universal Credit. Parents who meet the eligibility conditions for Tax-Free Childcare on the day they apply, or reconfirm, will qualify for support for a three month eligibility period. They remain eligible until the end of that period even if their circumstances change, for example if a parent becomes unemployed. Those starting work can apply for Tax-Free Childcare up to 31 days before taking up their new job. Parents may be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare if they are in receipt of Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance, Carer’s Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance and have a partner who is in work. An updated impact assessment for Tax-Free Childcare was published in March 2017. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/652939/Tax-free_childcare_Impact_Assessment-March_2017.pdf An updated expenditure forecast for Tax-Free Childcare was published as part of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook in November 2017. An update on the Tax-Free Childcare forecast can be found on page 254 of the document here: http://cdn.budgetresponsibility.org.uk/Nov2017EFOwebversion-2.pdf We estimate that over 50,000 employers offer childcare voucher schemes. We do not hold specific information about which employers offer childcare vouchers.

Child Tax Credit

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to publish the data on exceptions to the two-child tax credit limit.

Elizabeth Truss: The policy has only been operation since April 2017. The data will be published once there are sufficient cases to enable robust analysis and the statistics have been quality assured.

Treasury: Social Mobility

Chris Ruane: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department has taken to improve social mobility in each of the last seven years.

Elizabeth Truss: Improving social mobility is at the heart of the government’s ambition to make Britain a country that works for everyone. A strong economy means there are more job opportunities and that wages are higher, both of which are vital to improve social mobility. The Autumn Budget committed to tackling poverty, improving skills, and ensuring that every generation can look forward to a better standard of living than the one before. Since 2010 there are 600,000 fewer people, including 200,000 fewer children, in absolute poverty (before housing costs), and employment has risen to near record levels in the UK, accounting for the bulk of GDP growth over the last seven years. The Autumn Budget announced further action to raise living standards by increasing the National Living Wage and to make progress on delivering the manifesto commitment to raise the personal allowance to £12,500. Furthermore, the Budget announced £406m of investment in skills, with a focus of mathematics and digital skills, thereby helping people obtain the abilities they need to secure better paid and highly skilled jobs.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Office: Families

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2017 to Question HL3576, what steps his Department is taking to strengthen families.

Chloe Smith: It is our assessment that no legislation taken forward by the Northern Ireland Office since August 2014 has required the application of the Family Test by the UK Government. The Government is committed to supporting families. To achieve this, in 2014 we introduced the Family Test, which aims to ensure that impacts on family relationships and functioning are recognised early on during the process of policy development and help inform the policy decisions made by Ministers. The Family Test was not designed to be a ‘tick-box’ exercise, and as such there is no requirement for departments to publish the results of assessments made under the Family Test.

Northern Ireland Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme: Public Inquiries

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of the public inquiry into the renewable heat incentive scheme in Northern Ireland; what the expected duration is of that inquiry; and if he will make a statement.

Chloe Smith: The Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme is a devolved matter and is currently the subject of an independent investigation. The Northern Ireland Office has made no assessment of the cost of the inquiry or of its duration.

Northern Ireland Office: Data Protection

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many times his Department's Senior Information Risk Officer role has been vacant for a week or longer since 2012.

Chloe Smith: The role of Departmental Senior Information Risk Officer has not been vacant for any period of time since 2012.

Orchestras: Northern Ireland

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether his Department has made an assessment of the ability of orchestras in Northern Ireland to recruit freelance musicians from the Republic of Ireland after the UK leaves the EU.

Chloe Smith: My Department has not made a specific assessment of the ability of orchestras in Northern Ireland to recruit freelance musicians from Ireland after the UK leaves the EU.As has been made clear, we are committed to maintaining the Common Travel Area (CTA) and have agreed principles with the Commission to preserve the CTA and associated rights as included in the UK:EU Joint Report. Rights to work, study, access to social security and public services will be preserved on a reciprocal basis for UK and Irish nationals.

Orchestras: Northern Ireland

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps his Department is taking to promote Northern Ireland's professional orchestral sector.

Chloe Smith: Culture policy, including the promotion of orchestras, is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland. The UK Government recognises, though, the important and hugely valued work done by orchestras and classical music organisations right across the United Kingdom.

Department for International Trade

Department for International Trade: Brexit

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether his Department has established a market access commission on the implications of the withdrawal of the UK from the EU.

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether his Department (a) has carried out or (b) is carrying out a market access assessment on the implications of the withdrawal of the UK from the EU.

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether his Department (a) has drafted or (b) is drafting a market access commission on the implications of the withdrawal of the UK from the EU.

Greg Hands: The Department for International Trade is undertaking a comprehensive programme of analytical work looking at the implications of UK withdrawal from the EU. The Government is examining all areas of the UK economy and seeking input from a wide range of businesses and industry bodies in order to inform our negotiations with the EU. The Department for International Trade works closely with the Department for Exiting the European Union to ensure that they are informed of our understanding of these issues.

Department for International Trade: Families

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, to which legislation his Department has applied the Family Test, published in August 2014.

Greg Hands: The Government is committed to supporting families. To achieve this, in 2014 the Government introduced the Family Test, which aims to ensure that impacts on family relationships and functioning are recognised early on during the process of policy development and help inform the policy decisions made by Minsters. The Family Test was not designed to be a ‘tick-box’ exercise, and as such there is no requirement for departments to publish the results of assessments made under the Family Test.

Department for International Trade: Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many and what proportion of his Department's Answers to Written Parliamentary Questions in the 2017-18 Session to date have referred to the information requested not being (a) collected or (b) collated centrally.

Greg Hands: The Department for International Trade has referred to information requested not being held centrally in five answers this session. This represents less than one per cent of the answers given to date.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Mobile Broadband

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether and how Ofcom’s assessment of whether mobile providers have achieved their 90 per cent target for land mass coverage by the end of 2017 will be made public.

Matt Hancock: Ofcom is responsible for enforcing spectrum licence obligations and it plans to publish its assessment of whether mobile providers have met their licence obligations once it has assessed their compliance in early 2018.

Gambling: Children

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to protect children against underage gambling.

Tracey Crouch: Protecting children and the vulnerable from being harmed or exploited by gambling is a core objective of the regulation of gambling in Great Britain, and a priority for the government. Operators offering gambling services to people in Great Britain must have a licence from the Gambling Commission and must have effective policies and procedures designed to prevent underage gambling. The Gambling Commission has a range of powers to act where there is a failure to prevent underage gambling. These include powers to suspend or revoke a licence, impose financial penalties or launch criminal action. The Commission is closely monitoring the convergence between video games and gambling and has shown it will take action and prosecute unlicensed gambling on in-game items such as skins. The government published a consultation on gaming machines and social responsibility in October. This includes measures to strengthen protections around online gambling and gambling advertising. Gamble Aware will lead a major responsible gambling advertising campaign to ensure parents and children are aware of risks associated with gambling.

Members: Correspondence

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport,  what response she has received to her letter to Ofcom of 15 August 2017 ref TO2017/03331/DC asking whether Ofcom is striking the right balance between keeping bills low for consumers and incentivising the necessary levels of investment in the UK’s digital infrastructure.

Matt Hancock: A reply to that letter was received from Ofcom, which is available here: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/107141/sharon-white-letter.pdf

Ofcom

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, to what extent her Department has authority to intervene in the way in which Ofcom carries out its duties.

Matt Hancock: The Secretary of State can write to Ofcom on whatever matter she chooses. Ofcom is an independent regulator and takes many considerations into account when making decisions.

Ofcom

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what information her Department holds on how many occasions previous Secretaries of State of her Department have written to the Chief Executive of Ofcom requesting that they reconsider recommended price reductions relating to regulated services in each of the last 10 years.

Matt Hancock: The Secretary of State for DCMS has written to the Chief Executive of Ofcom from time to time on a number of matters over the decade and a half since Ofcom was established.

Mass Media: Young People

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans her Department has to promote teaching young people how to critically analyse what they view on the internet and in the media to help them identify fake news.

Matt Hancock: As part of our Internet Safety Strategy and through our work with the Department for Education, we are ensuring that children have the knowledge they need to critically assess information. This will help children and young people identify intentionally misleading information on the Internet and in the media.

Department of Health

Hospitals: Older People

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent estimate he has made of trends in the number of older people being admitted to hospital for cold-related illnesses since 2012.

Mr Philip Dunne: The information is not held centrally.

NHS: Redundancy

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department spent on NHS staff redundancies in each year since 2011-12.

Mr Philip Dunne: The total cost of National Health Service compulsory redundancies and ‘other departures’ since 2011-12 to 2012-13 and the total cost of NHS redundancies, both compulsory and voluntary, from 2013-14 is as follows: YearTotal cost (£000s)2011-12417,2902012-13429,7022013-14142,0642014-15144,4192015-1689,3702016-1764,725 Years 2011-12 and 2012-13 include NHS trusts, NHS foundation trusts, primary care trusts and strategic health authorities. Years 2013-14 to 2016-17 include NHS trusts, NHS foundation trusts, NHS England and clinical commissioning groups. Clinical commissioning group data is consolidated with NHS England data and cannot be disaggregated. ‘Other departures’ include voluntary redundancies, as well as the following categories of exit package payments: - mutually agreed resignations contractual costs;- early retirements in the efficiency of the service contractual costs;- contractual payments in lieu of notice;- exit payments following employment tribunals or court orders; and- non-contractual payments requiring HM Treasury approval.

NHS: Re-employment

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS staff were made redundant and subsequently re-employed by NHS organisations on a (a) permanent basis and (b) fixed-term contract basis since May 2010.

Mr Philip Dunne: The table below shows the number of redundancies from 2010/11 financial year to 2016/17 financial year and those subsequently re-employed up to the end of September 2017. As time goes by the numbers of those returning is likely to increase in relation to those made redundant in previous years. YearRedundanciesReturnedReturned on Permanent contractReturned on Fixed-Term contract2010/115,5211,3258764492011/126,8191,4981,0224762012/136,7861,3629354272013/144,7071,0056703352014/153,7647284692592015/163,3096234082152016/172,58831329921 Notes:These estimates are derived from un-validated data from the Electronic Staff Record (ESR) Data Warehouse, and so only cover redundancies from, and re-employment to, those organisation that use ESR. The ESR Data Warehouse is a monthly snap shot of the live ESR system, which is the HR and payroll system that covers all National Health Service employees other than those working in general practice, two NHS foundation trusts that have chosen not to use the system, and organisations to which functions have been transferred, such as local authorities. The ESR data used to derive these figures is not centrally validated and its reliability is subject to local coding practice. Redundancies are identified by staff records with a reason for leaving coded as either voluntary or compulsory redundancy. Returners are identified as those with an assignment start date subsequent to their date of redundancy from records of joiners. Only those recorded as returning prior to the end of September 2017 are counted. These estimate only the numbers of individuals who have returned to NHS employment subsequent to redundancy. Information on redundancy payments, and subsequent repayment, is not held centrally and would only be available from local employers.

Health Professions: Pay

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average salary was of a (a) nurse, (b) midwife and (c) health visitor in (i) the latest period for which figures are available and (ii) each year since 1997.

Mr Philip Dunne: Overall averages can mask the earning experience of National Health Service staff. In our evidence to the NHS Pay Review body for the 2017/2018 pay round we presented evidence of a longitudinal study of pay for staff who were employed in both March 2010 and March 2015. This took account of promotions and incremental pay as well as cost of living increases; so reflected the actual earnings experience of those staff. Over that period the median increase in earnings for nurses and midwives was 2.2% per annum. This compared with Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation of 2.4% per annum on average. So over that period the earnings of 50% of nurses and midwives who were continually employed kept broadly at least in line with CPI inflation. A typical Agenda for Change Band 5 nurse can expect incremental pay points worth £936 or 3.8% on average each year on top of annual pay awards. Around half of NHS staff receive annual increments of around 3% a year on average on top of their annual pay rise. - A new nurse in 2010 would have started on a salary of around £25,500;- After tax and national insurance, this comes to around £19,500; and- In general, they would have had seven years of progression pay averaging over 3% per year on top of any cost of living increase. This means that this year their salary would be around £34,500. And thanks to the increases to the personal allowance, this comes to just over £26,500 after tax and national insurance – over £7,000 more than in 2010, and a real terms increase of 18.9%.

Orkambi

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people with cystic fibrosis have been prescribed Orkambi in (a) England and (b) Wales in each of the last five years.

Steve Brine: No prescriptions for Orkambi have been submitted to the NHS Business Services Authority and NHS Digital in each of the last five years in England. We do not hold any data for Wales.

Orkambi

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with cystic fibrosis charities on the effectiveness of Orkambi.

Steve Brine: The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Lord O’Shaughnessy) met with the Cystic Fibrosis Trust on 7 March 2017 following on from an adjournment debate in December 2016 on “Implications of the Accelerated Access Review for Cystic Fibrosis and other Conditions” to discuss Orkambi. However, it is for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence as the independent body that provides guidance on the prevention and treatment of ill health and the promotion of good health and social care to make decisions on the clinical and cost effectiveness of treatments.

Breast Cancer: Medical Treatments

Craig Tracey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the commercial agreement announced by NHS England on 9 November 2017, what the timetable is for NICE to issue final guidance on Perjeta (pertuzumab) in combination with Herceptin (trastuzumab) and docetaxel for HER2 positive metastatic or locally recurrent unresectable breast cancer.

Steve Brine: The timetable for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidance on Perjeta (pertuzumab) in combination with Herceptin (trastuzumab) and docetaxel for HER2 positive metastatic or locally recurrent unresectable breast cancer is still to be confirmed. Perjeta remains available to new and existing National Health Service patients through the Cancer Drugs Fund pending NICE’s final guidance.

Department of Health: ICT

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health,  what steps his Department is taking to implement the guidance set out by the Government Commercial Function in its paper entitled Exiting Major IT Contracts: Guidance for Departments, published in November 2017, in respect of (a) using market engagement, (b) setting up disaggregation work, (c) risk assessment, (d) developing a programme plan through the transition, (e) identifying the skills and capabilities that will be needed in the future and (f) any other work related to that guidance.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Government Commercial Function published Exiting Major IT Contracts: Guidance for Departments in November 2017. The Department welcomes this guidance and has begun activities to ensure it is implemented. The guidance recommends activities that complement existing policies and process for procurement and contract management in the following areas: - Using market engagement: The Department regularly uses Market Engagement for strategically important contracts and this is embedded in the procurement process and procurement strategy template; - Setting up disaggregation work: Departmental procurement policy requires procurement leads to consider dividing services into smaller contracts that could be awarded to different suppliers; - Risk assessment: The Department has developed a contract management toolkit, including tools to assess and manage risk within its contracts. This includes the application of contingency strategies to mitigate the impact of such risks, if they occur; - Developing a programme plan through the transition: A Contract Management toolkit has been developed to provide contract managers with tools to provide commercial assurance. The toolkit provides specific guidance on how to develop plans to ensure a smooth transition into Business as Usual service delivery (“steady state”); - Identifying the skills and capabilities that will be needed in the future: The Department is developing a capability program and a range of learning tools to ensure that contract managers have the appropriate skills and knowledge to manage contracts effectively; and - Any other work related to that guidance: The contents have been communicated to all commercial colleagues. The Department publishes a ‘Procurement News’ newsletter is for public sector colleagues within the Department and its arm’s length bodies (ALBs) who have an interest in procurement and commercial activities. The contents of the guidance were communicated to ALBs in the November Edition. The Department continuously reviews and improves processes and guidance relating to procurement and contract management and will refer to this guidance in review activities planned for 2018.

Charles Bonnet Syndrome

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to raise awareness of Charles Bonnet Syndrome among NHS trust clinicians.

Steve Brine: It is not part of the Department’s role to directly raise awareness of any individual diseases with National Health Service clinicians. The NHS Choices website provides information on a number of diseases including Charles Bonnet Syndrome. This can be found at: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/charles-bonnet-syndrome/Pages/Introduction.aspx

Health Hazards: Pesticides

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to undertake or commission research into low dose and combinatory effects of pesticide exposure; and if he will make a statement.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department, through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has commissioned the Health Protection Research Unit in Chemical and Radiation Threats and Hazards to deliver research on ‘Chemical Exposure and Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders’. One project within this research theme concerns organophosphate pesticide exposures in domestic and occupational settings. The project aims to assess exposure and also any effects on cognitive function. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health. It is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. In all areas, the amount of NIHR funding depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity.

Mental Illness: Children

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of trends in children's mental health; and what step he is taking to tackle mental ill health among children.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department has commissioned a new national prevalence survey of children and young people’s mental health – the first since 2004. The survey will estimate the extent of mental ill health in the 2-19 year old population. It will examine the impact of issues such as social media and cyberbullying, self-harm and eating disorders. The survey will also analyse the data by characteristics such as ethnicity and deprivation to understand their impacts further. Final publication of findings is anticipated in autumn 2018. Children and young people’s mental health is a top priority for this Government and we are investing more than ever before across mental health. We are making an additional £1.4 billion available until 2019/20, transforming services and giving access to 70,000 additional children and young people. Our recent Green Paper Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision aims to improve provision of services in schools, bolster links between schools and the National Health Service and pilot a four week waiting time for NHS services. Since 2015/16, Local Transformation Plans have been put in place, covering every clinical commissioning group area in England, and these set out how local agencies will work together to improve children and young people’s mental health across the full spectrum of need. A national programme of work is supporting local areas, including the extension and expansion of the use of evidence-based interventions, tackling stigma, improving data and information to inform greater transparency and accountability and developing a specialist and stronger workforce. We have also committed to rolling out mental health first aid training for every secondary school by 2019 and to every primary school as part of the Green Paper.

Arthritis: Vitamin D

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with (a) the Royal College of Nursing and (b) other bodies on the potential merits of prescribing vitamin D to patients with arthritis.

Steve Brine: No discussions have taken place.

Care Homes

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the capacity of care homes in the next three years.

Jackie Doyle-Price: High quality care is not just about care home beds. Of those aged 65 and over who need local authority support, 62% are cared for in their own home. Since 2010 there has been a growth in home care agencies of more than 3,140. The total number of beds in care homes has remained broadly flat since 2010. We have given local authorities in England an extra £2 billion over the next three years to maintain access for our growing ageing population and allow councils to sustain a diverse care market including care home places. In addition the Government has announced we will consult on plans to improve the social care system and to put it on a more secure financial footing.

Hospital Beds

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to tackle bed blocking in hospitals.

Jackie Doyle-Price: This Government is clear that no-one should stay in hospital longer than necessary. Unnecessary delays in leaving hospital can result in poorer outcomes for patients, interrupted patient flow and put further pressure on hospital services. An extra £2 billion of funding has been provided over the next three years to be spent on meeting adult social care needs, stabilising the social care market and reducing pressure on the National Health Service, including reducing delayed transfers of care. £1 billion of this funding has been made available for 2017/18. In the autumn Budget, an additional £337 million was announced for this year to help the NHS ease winter pressures. Of this, up to £60 million will be spent on creating 1,400 extra beds. The Department, NHS England, NHS Improvement and local government are proving wide-ranging support to help local areas improve transfers out of hospital and reduce delays. Nationally, more than 1,000 extra beds have been freed up since February 2017 by reducing delayed transfers of care.

Spinal Injuries: Surgery

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have had spinal operations in the UK in each of the last 5 years; and how many have been  successful.

Mr Philip Dunne: Information is not held in the format requested. The information available is shown in the table below and provides a count of finished admission episodes1 with a main or secondary spinal procedure2 for the years 2012-13 to 2016-17 taken from the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) dataset. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care in the same year. Data on surgical outcomes is not collected in HES.YearFinished Admission Episodes (FAEs)2012-13126,7472013-14134,2832014-15140,3272015-16139,4452016-17139,235Source: HES, NHS Digital Notes: 1A FAE is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period. 2The number of episodes where the procedure (or intervention) was recorded in any of the 24 (12 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and four prior to 2002-03) procedure fields in a HES record. A record is only included once in each count, even if the procedure is recorded in more than one procedure field of the record. It should be noted that more procedures are carried out than episodes with a main or secondary procedure. For example, patients under going a ‘cataract operation’ would tend to have at least two procedures – removal of the faulty lens and the fitting of a new one – counted in a single episode.

Ankylosing Spondylitis and Arthritis

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve the collection of data within the NHS at the (a) national and (b) local level on the incidence, prevalence and outcomes of ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis.

Steve Brine: Psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis are part of group of musculoskeletal conditions referred to collectively as spondyloarthritis. This term also refers to conditions including: reactive arthritis; enteropathic arthritis; and undifferentiated spondyloarthritis. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence advises that spondyloarthritis has a reported prevalence in Western Europe of between 0.8% in 1.7%. Improving Lives - the Work, Health and Disability Green Paper, published on 31 October 2016, set out the Government’s commitment to work with NHS England to identify opportunities for regular collection of data about incidence, prevalence, clinical activity and outcomes of musculoskeletal conditions and services in England. The Government’s Mandate to NHS England reiterated this commitment. On 30 November 2017 the Government published Improving Lives - The Future of Work, Health and Disability in response to the Green Paper. In building on the commitment in the Green Paper to identify opportunities for routine data collection about musculoskeletal incidence, prevalence, clinical activity, and outcomes, the report set out that a data advisory group, led by Arthritis Research UK, has been examining the issue. On 1 December 2017 the advisory group presented its recommendations to NHS England, which is currently considering the appropriate next steps. Improving Lives - The Future of Work, Health and Disability can be found at the following link:www.gov.uk/government/publications/improving-lives-the-future-of-work-health-and-disability

Chronic Illnesses: Drugs

Sir Mike  Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of potential savings to the public purse of new medicines for (a) cystic fibrosis and (b) other long-term conditions; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: The Department has made no estimate. Through its technology appraisal programme, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) provides authoritative, evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service on whether drugs and other treatments represent a clinically and cost effective use of resources. In developing its guidance, NICE takes into account all the costs and savings associated with the treatment.

Orkambi

Sir Mike  Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect on young people with cystic fibrosis of making the drug Orkambi available on the NHS.

Steve Brine: Through its technology appraisal programme, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) provides authoritative, evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service on whether drugs and other treatments represent a clinically and cost effective use of resources. NHS organisations are legally required to make funding available for drugs and treatments recommended in NICE technology appraisal guidance. NICE published technology appraisal guidance in July 2016 that does not recommend Orkambi as a clinically and cost effective use of NHS resources. NICE concluded that, although clinically significant for managing cystic fibrosis, the longer term outcomes and benefits were not sufficient to justify its considerable costs. Orkambi is not therefore routinely available to NHS patients with cystic fibrosis.

Orkambi

Sir Mike  Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to help patients with cystic fibrosis to access the drug Orkambi; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: In July 2016, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the independent body that develops guidance on drugs and treatments for clinical and cost effectiveness for the National Health Service in England, was unable to recommend Orkambi as a cost effective use of NHS resources. Since then there has been a constructive dialogue between the company, NHS England and NICE, including discussion hosted through NICE’s confidential ‘Office for Market Access’, although NICE is yet to receive any fresh proposals from Vertex, the company that manufactures Orkambi. Both NHS England and NICE have been consistent in advice to Vertex, that progress can only be made by working through NICE’s appraisal processes and the existing commercial framework. Any funding decisions in the absence of positive NICE technology appraisal guidance should be made by NHS commissioners based on an assessment of the available evidence and on the basis of an individual patient’s clinical circumstances.

Pain: Health Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to support a UK wide roll-out of ESCAPE-pain to enable self-management and rehabilitation for people with lower-limb chronic joint pain.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to support the devolved nations access to (a) the ESCAPE-pain programme and (b) other community structured rehabilitation programmes.

Steve Brine: ESCAPE-Pain is a group-based, six week rehabilitation programme which combines exercise and education to help patients manage chronic joint pain using exercise and coping techniques. The programme is endorsed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and has received Best Practice Awards from the British Society of Rheumatology and Royal Society of Public Health. The programme, which is running at over 30 sites across England, can be provided in physiotherapy departments, the community and places of work, and lessons can also be accessed via an app that is free to download. Commissioning of self-management and rehabilitation programmes, such as ESCAPE-Pain, is a local matter. Health is a devolved matter, and decisions about use of the ESCAPE-Pain programme in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland would be a matter for the devolved administrations of those countries.

Medical Treatments: Innovation

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2017 to Question 106474, when the NICE evaluation report through the Commissioning through Evaluation programme on Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion will be published.

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2017 to Question 106474, when the review of the clinical commissioning policy for Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion will be completed.

Steve Brine: NHS England invested in a ‘commissioning through evaluation’ scheme which has provided additional data on the treatment’s cost and clinical effectiveness. NHS England advises that the scheme’s independent Evaluation Report - produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has been completed and an updated evidence review is being considered at NHS England’s national Clinical Panel in December.If the evidence is supportive of a move to a routine commissioning position in the future, we will look to make a decision on a potential change to the national policy position on funding as soon as possible.

Surgical Mesh Implants

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of NICE guidance on Transvaginal mesh repair of anterior or posterior vaginal wall prolapse, published on 15 December 2017; and if he will make a statement.

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that transvaginal mesh repair of anterior or posterior vaginal wall prolapse is only be used in the context of research, in accordance with NICE recommendations.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that provides authoritative, evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service on whether interventional procedures are sufficiently safe and efficacious for routine use in clinical practice, or whether special arrangements should apply to their use. NICE’s guidance is developed through an established process that entails a thorough consideration of the available evidence and public consultation. NICE’s interventional procedures guidance represents best clinical practice and we expect NHS organisations and healthcare professionals to take it fully into account in the treatment of NHS patients. The recommendation of NHS England’s oversight group’s reports ensures mesh is only used in appropriate situations with clear consent and understanding about the balance of benefit and risks. Ministers are also working with the All Party Parliamentary Group and considering a range of additional actions to ensure the evidence and data collected on these procedures is current and robust.

Surgical Mesh Implants

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that publicly funded research into transvaginal mesh repair of anterior or posterior vaginal wall prolapse includes (a) details of patient selection, (b) long-term outcomes including complications, (c) type of mesh used, (d) method of fixation and (e) quality of life as recommended by NICE.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. The NIHR would expect researchers applying for funding through NIHR research programmes to be aware of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.

Lung Diseases

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to establish a taskforce for lung health; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: Improving care for people with lung disease is a key priority for the National Health Service. Whilst there are no new plans for a national respiratory strategy or programme, there is ongoing work around particular respiratory conditions. Recent progress includes publication of standards on a range of respiratory conditions and a national pilot to improve care of breathlessness. Recent campaign activity this year has focused on raising awareness of respiratory symptoms which could indicate heart or lung disease. NHS England and clinical commissioning groups have responsibility for determining the overall national approach to improve clinical outcomes from healthcare services for people with respiratory disease. The NHS Outcomes Framework sets out the Department's priority areas for the NHS. One of these is reducing early deaths from respiratory diseases. The Department is committed to working in partnership with its arm’s length bodies to ensure the progress of these joint initiatives.

Gynaecological Cancer: Birmingham

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect on access to specialised gynae-oncological surgery for women in Birmingham of the closure of the service at Birmingham City Hospital.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS England has advised that services from Birmingham City Hospital will continue in the near future. Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospital and NHS England are committed to ensuring that patients continue to receive appropriate care and treatment and are advised of, and engaged in, proposed service changes as soon as possible.

NHS Trusts: Birmingham

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will ensure that Mr Peter Axon of Birmingham Community Healthcare Trust provides the data on the trust's budget requested in correspondence on 18 December 2017.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Department has no record of receiving any correspondence relating to Birmingham Community Healthcare Trust as at 19 December.

Ovarian Cancer

Lee Rowley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the timetable is for a decision on the next round of cancer audits; and whether ovarian cancer will be included within those audits.

Steve Brine: NHS England, the Welsh Government and the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership are currently recommissioning the cancer audits that sit within the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme portfolio and have been charged with achieving greater alignment to produce a more sustainable delivery model. Discussions will take place over the next year on potential new topics, such as ovarian cancer and any new audits will draw on data that is already available and routinely collected, wherever possible.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has for supporting the mental health needs of children and young people over the next 12 months.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Children and young people’s mental health is a top priority for this Government which is why we are making an additional £1.4 billion available from 2015/16 to 2019/20 to transform children and young people’s mental health services. This additional money provides funding for clinical commissioning groups and various national programmes, including improving crisis support, expanding the workforce and tackling stigma. The additional money will also be used to improve access to services, with the indicative trajectory for 2018/19 (as set out in NHS England’s implementation plan for their ‘Five Year Forward View for Mental Health’ being for an additional 49,000 additional children to access mental health treatment, rising to 70,000 by 2020/21. Bed numbers in the existing Mother and Baby units will increase so that overall capacity increased by 49% in 2018/19. Our recent joint Department of Health and Department for Education Green Paper, Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision, will be supported by over £300 million and aims to improve provision of services in schools, bolster links between schools and the National Health Service, and pilot a four week waiting time. The consultation period will end in March 2018 and we will subsequently analyse responses to inform implementation of the proposals.

Tobacco

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions or other communications his Department has had with the Action on Smoking and Health or representatives of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health on the proposed tender for tobacco control in England; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: The Department is still considering the scope and procurement process for grants to support the implementation of the Tobacco Control Plan. As such there has been no formal communication with Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) or any other organisation on the proposed tender for tobacco control in England. We have informed ASH that the tender process was yet to commence, and reiterated that the grant will be competed for, in line with Cabinet Office standards for new grants. All interested applicants will need to follow the terms and conditions of the tender after the invitation for bids has been announced.

Department of Health: Pay

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what enhancement to pay rates officials of his Department receive for working on Saturdays and Sundays.

Mr Philip Dunne: Departmental staff below the Senior Civil Service are eligible for enhanced pay rates if required to work additional hours on a Saturday or Sunday.The rates of pay for staff working more hours than the normal conditioned requirements is calculated as follows:Administrative Officer and Executive Officer – Saturday and Sunday at double time the hourly rate of pay.Higher Executive Officer, Senior Executive Officer, Grade 7, Grade 6 and Fast Stream - Saturday at time and a half and Sunday at double time the hourly rate of pay.

Health Professions: Training

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much Health Education England spent on clinical placements for (a) nursing, (b) midwifery and (c) allied health students in the last three years for which figures are available.

Mr Philip Dunne: The following table shows how much Health Education England (HEE) spent on clinical placements for nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals (AHPs) in the last three years. Training Category2014/152015/162016/17Nursing£77.2 million£88.3 million£90.3 millionMidwifery£11.6 million£12.2 million£11.6 millionAHP£25.9 million£26.7 million£28.0 millionSource: HEE

Palliative Care

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the recommendations set out in the Government’s national commitment to improve end of life care will be implemented in full by 2020; and if he will make a statement.

Jackie Doyle-Price: On 21 September 2017 we published a report setting out the good progress made over the first year in implementing the Choice Commitment, and we remain committed to improving services and ending variation in end of life care by 2020. Through the Mandate, we have asked NHS England to deliver the Choice Commitment, and working through NHS England’s National Programme Board for End of life Care, with all key system partners and stakeholders a, range of activity is ongoing to achieve this. Progress over the first year includes: - supporting the roll-out of digital palliative and end of life care records;- engaging local Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships to support service planning for end of life of care;- inspecting and rating National Health Service hospital and community services for end of life care;- providing support to trusts to help them improve end of life care services;- testing Personal Health Budgets for people approaching the end of life to give them choice and control over their care;- developing metrics to assess quality and experience in end of life care; and- working to change the nursing and medical undergraduate and postgraduate curricula to improve patient choice and quality of care. Going forward, we expect to see more patients having informed honest discussions about their needs and preferences with clinicians, developing personalised care plans, involving their family and carers as much as they wish in their care, and having the confidence to know who to contact to get help and advice day or night. A copy of One year on: the government response to the review of choice in end of life care can be found at the following link:www.gov.uk/government/publications/choice-in-end-of-life-care-government-progress

Mental Health Services: Chronic Illnesses

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the level of access to mental health services for people with degenerative illnesses.

Jackie Doyle-Price: NHS England collects monthly data on the number of referrals made by general practitioners to memory assessment services for people with neurologically degenerative conditions such as dementia. In November 2017, we know that 2,892 referrals were made to mental health services specifically memory services. People with degenerative illness can access psychological treatments for anxiety and depression which are available through local Improving Access to Psychological Treatment (IAPT) services. The Government recognises there is a need to better integrate mental and physical health services and has committed to delivering the recommendations in the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health for an additional 600,000 people to have access to integrated evidence-based psychological therapies each year by 2020/21. The expansion of IAPT services will be through IAPT –LTC (Long Term Conditions) services that are integrated into physical healthcare pathways, supporting people with comorbid physical and mental health conditions. The IAPT-LTC services will aim to ensure people with long-term physical health problems have the same access to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence-recommended psychological therapies as other people and commissioners will be expected to have clear access criteria for IAPT-LTC services that are agreed with all relevant services. Many of these services will be co-located with primary and community care, with the aim of providing more convenient and tailored treatment.

Sleep Apnoea

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reasons the previously agreed Review of the Clinical Pathway for Sleep Apnoea is no longer included on NICE's priority lists.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to publish the Review of the Clinical Pathway for Sleep Apnoea.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will assess the potential merits of establishing a national programme to provide fast-track treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea for vocational drivers.

Steve Brine: The Review of the Clinical Pathway for Sleep Apnoea is included on the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s priority lists and scoping will begin in the new year. There are no plans of establishing a national programme to provide fast-track treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea for vocational drivers.

Strokes: Medical Treatments

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to support the NHS roll-out of new and innovative mechanical thrombectomy techniques in the treatment of strokes.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government plans to take to (a) promote innovation within the NHS and (b) support existing drives for innovation such as the recently commissioned stroke treatment mechanical thrombectomy.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support his Department provides to NHS England to ensure that NHS Trusts can provide mechanical thrombectomies for the treatment of stroke.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of variations in the level of access to mechanical thrombecomy across England, Scotland and Wales; and how his Department plans to address those variations.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the number of trained interventional neuroradiologists to perform mechanical thrombectomies.

Steve Brine: NHS England is working to develop well-staffed and effective units capable of delivering high quality thrombectomy. NHS England is supporting networking between thrombectomy centres to cover extended daytime hours while service development is under discussion in each of the regions. Full 24/7 implementation of this relatively new technique across the country will take time. NHS England will explore the possibility of providing care to patients in remote areas using helicopter transfer. NHS England is initially proposing to set up 24 thrombectomy centres providing care 24 hours a day, seven days a week which would require a minimum of five interventional clinicians for each centre (120 clinicians). Ultimately NHS England expects to need at least 30 centres to provide equitable geographical coverage, which would require 150 interventionists. To strengthen the available workforce, models of training are being discussed by Health Education England (HEE) and the General Medical Council (GMC). HEE is developing models of training for interventional radiologists and a credential model in collaboration with the GMC. NHS services in Scotland and Wales are matters for the Scottish and Welsh Governments.

Cancer: Screening

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the level of availability of cancer gene tests is on the NHS; and whether the NHS prioritises such tests for people whose families have a history of cancer.

Steve Brine: NHS England is committed to implementing the Independent Cancer Taskforce’s recommendations on molecular diagnostics, meaning that around 25,000 additional people will have their cancers genetically tested every year to identify the most effective treatments. NHS England will continue to invest in building the infrastructure for genomics and by the end of 2018/19, will have developed a genomic medicine service for England, underpinned by a new consolidated genomic laboratory infrastructure and facilitated by informatics, data and analytical platforms to enable the sequencing data we generate to improve clinical practice. Once established, the new genomic laboratory infrastructure for the National Health Service in England will support rare, inherited and acquired disease, to support the NHS to deliver personalised medicine to all eligible patients.

Pancreatic Cancer: Diagnosis

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the timetable is for a new test for diagnosing pancreatic cancer by app to be available on the NHS.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The future availability of any new or novel tests on the National Health Service, such as this test for pancreatic cancer, would be subject to large scale clinical trials demonstrating the safety and efficacy of the diagnostic approach and subsequent assessments of its cost effectiveness for routine use.NHS England has launched two new digital platforms, NHS Digital Apps Library and a Mobile Health space for developers. This is part of work to transform the way people experience the NHS by designing digital health tools and services that connect them to the information and services they need, when they need them.

Mental Health: Armed Forces

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to address mental health problems in each branch of the Armed Forces.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The treatment of primary mental health in the serving Armed Forces is commissioned by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), which provides a wide range of medical care and treatment for its military personnel. All three main branches of the Services will access mental health care through the Defence Medical Services, Department of Community Mental Health services. Mental health services for reservists (when not mobilised), veterans and service families are the responsibilities of NHS services in England and the three devolved administrations. In 2017 NHS England launched the Veterans Mental Health Transition, Intervention and Liaison Service which can be accessed through all four regions across England: North, Midlands and East, London and South East and South West. The service increases access to NHS mental health services and treatment options, doubling the size of the previous regional bespoke mental healthcare for veterans and families in England, and works in addition to the local mental services commissioned by clinical commissioning groups. It provides support for the general and complex mental health needs of veterans, and for the first time offers vulnerable serving personnel preparing to leave the Armed Forces access to the same National Health Service care and treatment for mental health conditions, providing continuity when it is most needed. For Armed Forces patients already undergoing treatment plans for all health issues, these will be continued as part of standard transition planning processes. The Department and NHS England also supports the MOD in its implementation of its Defence People Mental Health and Wellbeing strategy. This aims to build a coordinated approach to prevent, detect, and treat mental health and wellbeing issues, as well as introduce measures to promote the importance of mental health, and will encompass all Defence People – serving Armed Forces members (Regulars and Reserves), military families, veterans, and MOD civil servants.

South Tyneside Hospital

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on patient safety of the decision temporarily to suspend (a) births and (b) the special care baby unit at South Tyneside District Hospital; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne: Any possible reconfiguration of services is a matter for the local National Health Service. It is right that these decisions are led by local clinicians, who best understand the healthcare needs of their local populations, and in consultation with local people. South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust has taken the decision temporarily to suspend births and the Special Care Baby Unit at South Tyneside District Hospital in the interests of patient safety. The local NHS is working hard to address its staffing challenges and to be able to return to the level of care patients expect. No permanent changes to maternity services would be made without formal consultation.

Abortion: Northern Ireland

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of the extension of the Northern Ireland abortion scheme to include the provision of free travel for Northern Irish women seeking abortion from a certain income bracket will have on the autonomy of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Providing support for travel costs for those who meet financial hardship criteria does not impact on the autonomy of the Northern Ireland Assembly. This scheme does not change the fundamental position that the Abortion Act 1967 does not apply to Northern Ireland. Abortion legislation, and the provision of abortion services in Northern Ireland, are a matter for Northern Ireland.

Abortion: Private Sector

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the regulation of private abortion clinics.

Jackie Doyle-Price: A robust process is in place for regulating independent sector abortion clinics. Independent sector abortion providers must be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to carry out that regulated activity and have received written approval from the Secretary of State for Health and agree to comply with the Department’s Required Standard Operating Procedures (RSOPs). The CQC is responsible for ensuring that the requirements under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 are maintained through a system of monitoring and, where appropriate, inspection visits. If a CQC inspection identifies instances of non-compliance with the Health and Social Care Act and Regulations then appropriate regulatory action will be taken. Action will similarly be taken where providers are found not to be acting in accordance with the Abortion Act and RSOPs. This includes reporting any concerns in relation to termination of pregnancy practice to the Department, who then considers the appropriate action to be taken including reporting the matter to the police and/or withdrawing Secretary of State’s approval of the clinic to perform abortions.

Abortion: Research

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for his policy on abortion of research demonstrating the capacity of foetuses to react to pain.

Jackie Doyle-Price: As with other matters of conscience, abortion is an issue on which the Government adopts a neutral stance. It is accepted Parliamentary practice that proposals for changes in the law on abortion come from back-bench members and that decisions are made on the basis of free votes. The Department does not set clinical practice in abortion services. To support clinical practice, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has published evidence based guidelines, ‘Fetal Awareness: Review of Research and Recommendations for Practice’, which can be viewed at:https://www.rcog.org.uk/en/guidelines-research-services/guidelines/fetal-awareness---review-of-research-and-recommendations-for-practice/

Abortion: Northern Ireland

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department will issue on cases where, under the extension of the Northern Ireland abortion scheme to provide free travel to women from low-income backgrounds to have abortions in England, women travel from Northern Ireland to England and then change their mind about the procedure.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government plans to ensure that arrangements for free travel for women travelling to England from Northern Ireland to undergo an abortion reflect the system which applies in England. Women can decide not to proceed with a termination at any time. No attempt will be made to recoup any costs either for the procedure or travel unless clear evidence of fraudulent activity should emerge.

Pregnancy Remains

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department has issued on the disposal of post-abortive foetuses by hospitals and private clinics.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Human Tissue Authority published guidance on the disposal of pregnancy remains following pregnancy loss or termination in March 2015. The guidance sets out the minimum standard expected for the disposal of tissue following pregnancy loss or termination of pregnancy and applies equally to National Health Service hospitals and independent sector providers. A copy of the guidance can be viewed at:https://www.hta.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Guidance_on_the_disposal_of_fetal_remains.pdf

Disability: Public Transport

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what work his Department is carrying out with the Department for Transport to help ensure that people with mobility issues and disabilities can access public transport.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The public consultation on the Department of Transport’s draft Transport Accessibility Action plan closed on the 22 November 2017 and the responses are currently being analysed. The Department of Health will work with the Department of Transport as appropriate in responding to the consultation.

Strokes: Medical Treatments

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support his Department plans to offer to those NHS trusts in those areas unlikely to be able to offer mechanial thrombectomy as a treatment immediately.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how his Department plans to ensure that eligible stroke patients get access to mechanical thrombectomy treatment.

Steve Brine: NHS England does not anticipate being able to offer thrombectomy to all eligible stroke patients immediately, because of the need to develop and train further specialists to undertake the procedure. NHS England is initially proposing to set up 24 thrombectomy centres providing care 24 hours a day, seven days a week which would require a minimum of five interventional clinicians for each centre (120 clinicians). Ultimately NHS England expects to need at least 30 centres to provide equitable geographical coverage, which would require 150 interventionists.NHS England anticipates that it will take a minimum of five years to achieve full 24/7 services and in the initial roll out phase of implementation most services will not be in a position to safely deliver this service 24/7, as delivering thrombectomy is a complex and highly technical procedure.

Great North Care Record

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Great North Care Record and its opt-in model for data sharing.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Great North Care Record is a local initiative led by the Connected Health Cities initiative and supported by general practices, hospitals, community and mental health trusts across the North East and North Cumbria region. It aims to make an agreed set of information from each organisation immediately available between health and care professionals using a secure, electronic system to help provide the best treatment. The Department understands that people receiving treatment at emergency departments or out of hours services ‘opt in’ at the point of care by giving permission for their Great North Care Record to be viewed by health professionals and that people can ‘opt out’ of the scheme via their general practitioner practice. The Department has not made any assessment of the effectiveness of these arrangements.

Mental Health Services: Kirklees

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on the average waiting time for children with mental health issues to receive treatment in Kirklees.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Information held on the average waiting time for children and young people being treated in National Health Service funded secondary mental health services is published in NHS England’s Five Year Forward View for Mental Health Dashboard tables. Information for quarter 1 2017/18 (April to June 2017), is available at:http://content.digital.nhs.uk/media/25512/Children-and-young-people-mental-health-indicators-Q1-2017-18/xls/Children_and_young_people_mental_health_indicators_(Q1_2017-18).xlsx

Department of Health: Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many and what proportion of his Department's Answers to Written Parliamentary Questions in the 2017-18 Session to date have referred to the information requested not being (a) collected or (b) collated centrally.

Mr Philip Dunne: As of 20 December, the Department has answered approximately 350 written parliamentary questions explaining that the requested information was not either wholly or partially available on the grounds of it not being collected or held centrally. This is out of a total of 3,831 parliamentary questions that have been answered.

NHS: Public Opinion

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the letter from the Minister of State for Health to the hon. Member for Brighton Pavilion of 7 December 2017 on nurses pay, what the evidential basis is for the Minister’s statement that changing public expectations are a cause of increasing pressure on the NHS.

Mr Philip Dunne: There is general consensus that a number of factors are likely to drive increases in healthcare activity and associated spending. These factors include but are not limited to long-term demographic changes. For example, in its Fiscal Sustainability Analytical Paper on Public Spending on Health (2016), the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) found that health spending is driven by a multitude of factors, broadly grouped under demographic factors, changes in income and other cost pressures. Using a range of evidence to inform their analysis, the report found that historically, spending in healthcare has been driven, amongst other factors, by changes in the population size and structure, changing morbidity, technological and medical advances as well as an overall increase in national income. In respect of income, the OBR highlights that, as a “normal good”, people tend to demand more healthcare as their incomes rise. These drivers are commonly cited in the literature, including by international institutions such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the International Monetary Fund. It is difficult to separate their effects as they are not independent from one another.

Ambulance Services: Road Traffic Offences

Jack Lopresti: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many ambulance response drivers have been (a) charged, (b) convicted, (c) given a custodial or suspended custodial sentence for (i) careless driving, or (ii) dangerous driving arising from actions performed as part of their medical response duties in each of the last five years.

Mr Philip Dunne: This information is not held centrally.

Department of Health: Social Mobility

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to improve social mobility in each of the last seven years.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government is acting to reduce health inequalities by addressing the social causes of ill health, promoting healthier lifestyles for all and tackling differences in outcomes of NHS services. Action is led locally to ensure that the solutions put in place reflect the needs of individual communities. Reducing health inequalities is underpinned within the Department’s legal duties and achieving measureable and sustained reductions in health inequalities is reflected in NHS England’s Five Year Forward View, Public Health England’s Evidence into Action and supporting strategic and business plans at national and local level.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to ensure that the training of GPs includes the latest evidence on how to diagnose and treat ME.

Steve Brine: The postgraduate training curriculum of doctors is set by the relevant Royal College and has to meet the standards set by the General Medical Council (GMC). It emphasises the skills and attributes that a doctor must develop in order to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and to develop a treatment plan to meet patients’ needs. The GMC published revised standards for postgraduate training curricula in May 2017. These provide an integrated standards framework for the development, approval and provision of postgraduate medical education and training in the United Kingdom.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Research

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent research his Department has commissioned on the diagnosis and treatment of ME.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department, through the National Institute for Health Research, has recently commissioned one project on the treatment of symptoms of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME). Professor Esther Crawley, of the University of Bristol, was awarded funding for research entitled, ‘Investigating the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of using FITNET to treat paediatric CFS/ME in the UK’. This project began in May 2016. Full details of the research can be found at: https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/programmes/hta/14192109/#/summary-of-research

Women and Equalities

Government Equalities Office: Families

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, to which legislation she has applied the Family Test, published in August 2014..

Anne Milton: Guidance to departments on the application of the Family Test to domestic policy was published on 31 October 2014. The criteria for assessing policies, including those which require primary legislation, are set out in the guidance. Policy is to be assessed against the Family Test questions if it has a demonstrable impact on family relationships and functions, and if the impact is not small, indirect or temporary. Legislation introduced by the Government Equalities Office since August 2014 includes: The Equality Act 2010 (Equal Pay Audits) Regulations 2014, The Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017 and The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017. The family test was not formally applied for any of these regulations as they do not have a direct or demonstrable impact on family relationships.

Government Equalities Office: Data Protection

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how many data incidents her Department (a) recorded and (b) reported to the Information Commissioner's Office in (i) 2015-16 and (ii) 2016-17.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Since becoming part of the Department for Education (DfE) organisational structure in September 2015, information relating to personal data incidents for the Government Equalities Office (GEO) is held by the DfE and is included in the reply given by the Secretary of State for Education to PQ 119467.The DfE reports data incidents to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) where a large volume of personal data is concerned and there is a real risk of individuals suffering some harm or where smaller amounts of personal data are involved, the release of which could cause a significant risk of individuals suffering substantial detriment, including substantial distress.The DfE publishes, in its annual report and accounts, information about personal data related incidents and provides fuller details about incidents reported to the ICO.The department’s annual report and accounts for 2015-16 and 2016-17 report on personal data incidents and incidents that warranted formal reporting to the ICO.The accounts can be found at the following links:2015-16 - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dfe-consolidated-annual-report-and-accounts-2015-to-2016.2016-17 - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dfe-consolidated-annual-report-and-accounts-2016-to-2017.Of the incidents reported in the periods 2015-16 and 2016-17, none of the DfE’s reported incidents and incidents reported to the ICO related to the GEO.

Government Equalities Office: Data Protection

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how many times the Government Equalities Office's Senior Information Risk Officer role has been vacant for a week or longer since 2012.

Mr Robert Goodwill: As part of the Department for Education organisational structure, the Government Equalities Office (GEO) does not have a Senior Information Risk Officer role but shares that of the Department for Education (DfE). This was also the case when GEO was part of other departments. In September 2012, GEO moved from the Home Office to the Department for Culture, Digital, Media and Sport (DCMS). In September 2015, GEO moved from DCMS to DfE.

Abortion: Northern Ireland

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether her Department had discussions with (a) the Northern Ireland Assembly and (b) Cabinet colleagues on the decision to extend the Northern Ireland abortion scheme to include the provision of free travel to women resident in Northern Ireland from low-income backgrounds.

Anne Milton: The judgement in June 2017, in the case of R (on the application of A and B) v Secretary of State for Health, confirmed My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State's powers to extend equal access to women from Northern Ireland. There was no legal requirement to consult on this specific aspect of the scheme and no formal consultation took place.

Abortion: Northern Ireland

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether the extension to the Government's Northern Ireland abortion scheme covers (a) free travel and (b) free accommodation; and if she will make a statement.

Anne Milton: I refer My hon. Friend, the Member for Congleton to the Written Ministerial Statement made by My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities on 23 October 2017. The statement is attached.



Written Ministerial Statement
(PDF Document, 198.06 KB)

Abortion: Northern Ireland

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to the extension of the Government's Northern Ireland abortion scheme, if the Government will take steps to provide financial support for disadvantaged women who plan to continue with their pregnancies.

Anne Milton: The provision of financial support for people in Northern Ireland is a devolved issue and therefore a matter for the Northern Ireland Government.

Flitwick Station: Disability

Ms Nadine Dorries: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on disabled access to the platforms at Flitwick station.

Nick Gibb: No such discussions have taken place. Under the Equality Act 2010, service providers are under a duty to make reasonable adjustments to improve access to premises or buildings and services so that disabled customers are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled customers. This reasonable adjustment duty is an anticipatory duty, which means that those who provide goods, facilities and services to members of the public are expected to anticipate the reasonable adjustments that disabled customers may require. The delivery of accessible transport, including disabled access at stations and transport hubs is the responsibility of the Department for Transport.

Abortion: Northern Ireland

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, which groups in Northern Ireland she consulted in developing the policy to pay for women with low incomes resident in Northern Ireland to travel and have abortions in England.

Anne Milton: The judgement on June 2017, in the case of R (on the application of A and B) v Secretary of State for Health, confirmed the Secretary of State's powers to extend equal access to women from Northern Ireland. There was no legal requirement to consult on this specific aspect of the scheme and no formal consultation took place.

Access to Elected Office for Disabled People Fund

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to the Answers of 10 June 2015, 22 December 2015, 2 September 2016 and 5 July 2017 to Questions 700, 19860, 44313 and 1672, when she plans to (a) publish the evaluation report on the pilot Access to Elected Office Fund and (b) make a decision on whether that Fund should continue.

Nick Gibb: I refer the hon. Member for Brighton Pavilion to the answer I gave on 5 July 2017, http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2017-06-28/1672/. There are no further details to add at this time.

Government Equalities Office: Social Mobility

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government Equalities Office has taken to improve social mobility in each of the last seven years.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Since 2010, the Government Equalities Office (GEO) has undertaken a programme of activity to tackle gender inequality in the workplace, including through wide-ranging engagement with employers. Women have too long suffered disadvantage in the labour market, which is a barrier to social mobility. McKinsey estimates that bridging the gender gap in work would add £150 billion to the UK economy by 2025. We need to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to fulfil their potential. The full-time gender pay gap has fallen to a record low of 9.1%, and we are committed to eliminating the gender pay gap entirely. In 2017 we introduced requirements for all large employers to publish their gender pay and bonus gaps data by April 2018. These requirements will help employers identify and take action to close their gender pay gaps, which is key to accelerating progress. Many women struggle to find good jobs that meet their needs after taking time out to care for children and other relatives. Analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies found that time out of the labour market has a substantial impact on women’s salaries. On returning to work, women earn around 2% less on average for every year spent out of paid work. In the 2017 budget, £5 million in funding was allocated to increasing opportunities and support for returners. We are working with employers across the public and private sector to understand how returners can be supported back into permanent employment, and co-ordinating new public sector programmes for returners across the country in a wide variety of roles. The Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities recently launched the government’s ‘Unlocking Talent, Fulfilling Potential’ plan to improve social mobility through education. GEO will be engaging with the wider Department for Education on the implementation of the plan.